This article offers the only empirical analysis to date of national data evaluating the claim that defense of marriage acts (DOMAs) preserve and stabilize the family. After concluding that they do not, the article analyzes what variables are, in fact, correlated with family stability. Specifically, the relationships between families below the poverty line, men and women married three or more times, religiosity, percent conservative versus liberal in a state, disposable income, percent with bachelor’s degree, and median age of first marriage, and marriage and divorce trends is fully explored. Next, the article applies the sociological concepts of moral entrepreneurism, which is the practice of political groups labeling certain behavior as deviant and moral panic, the reframing of a social phenomenon in moral terms to create an exaggerated sense of fear, as a theoretical explanation for DOMAs continued attraction. Finally, the article offers pragmatic recommendations for achieving family stability.