WATCH: Binational Lesbian Moms in North Carolina Take on DOMA

In a new video from the DOMA Project, Becky, an American citizen, and Sanne, who was born in the Netherlands, say they want the protections of marriage to help support their daughter, Willow.

Sunnivie Brydum

Sunnivie is the managing editor of The Advocate, and an award-winning journalist whose passion is covering the politics of equality and elevating the unheard stories of our community. Originally from Colorado, she and her spouse now live in Los Angeles, along with their three fur-children: dogs Luna and Cassie Doodle, and "Meow Button" Tilly.

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Sunnivie Brydum

February 06 2013 6:45 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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In 2008, American schoolteacher Becky was leading a group of young adults on an alternative education expedition in northern India when she met Sanne, a Dutch student in the country on an art internship. The two women fell hard and fast for each other and by 2010 were married, while Becky was pregnant with the couple's daughter, Willow.

Now the couple has taken to the airwaves to share their story in the latest video from the DOMA Project, which fights to stop deportations, separations, and exiles of members of gay and lesbian binational couples.

Although Sanne's native Holland was the first country in the world to offer marriage equality to gay and lesbian families, the couple ultimately decided to return to Becky's home state of North Carolina to be closer to family and friends as they raised their daughter.

Why would a legally married lesbian couple leave a country where they enjoyed the same rights and benefits as straight couples for the U.S., where DOMA prohibits the federal government from recognizing their relationship? The DOMA Project explained in a blog post addressed to President Obama.

"For them, it was a no-brainer," reads the post. "First, they simply wanted to raise their daughter near the friends, family, and mountains they love. Plus, there was no way they were ever going to live overseas and wait for change to happen before following their hearts home. Rather, they were determined to be in the thick of the fight for equality, advocating for the kind of world any parent, gay or straight, would want to raise their child in -- one characterized by respect and equal opportunity."