I think many Conservatives took this hook, line and sinker. The DOMA was a HUGE mistake, bringing the Federal Gov’t into a State issue, thus bolstering the argument that Marriage is a RIGHT.
IMHO, Anthony Comstock made the same mistake when he got the federal government involved in the business of birth control. An even bigger mistake was when he got abortion declared a form of birth control (instead of the state crime of murder) so that he could try to regulate that, too.