Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2016
Abstract
Historically, the topics of same-sex marriage and immigration reform have been debated as separate political issues. Both issues, however, have impacted the lives of LGBTQ immigrants and their American partners. Presently in the United States, families that include same-sex binational couples are part of the increasingly diverse family landscape. Binational couples are defined here as same-sex partnerships in which one spouse or partner is an American citizen or resident and the other is a foreign national. For years, the ideological underpinnings inherent in immigration laws separated committed couples, forced couples into exile, and resulted in the deportation of partners/spouses of Americans under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This entry describes the sociocultural context in which binational couples are situated and the challenges they face today. In the following sections, the entry presents the demographics of binational families, the ways in which DOMA directly impacted immigration law and the lives of binational families, the positive ramifications DOMA’s repeal has had on binational families, and the challenges and obstacles binational families continue to face even after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state bans on same-sex marriage.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483371283.n46
Recommended Citation
Domínguez, Daniela and Coppock, Jacqueline E., "Binational Same-Sex Couples and Families" (2016). Psychology. 60.
https://repository.usfca.edu/psyc/60
Comments
Contributors: Daniela G. Domínguez & Jacqueline E. Coppock
Edited by: Abbie E. Goldberg
Book Title: The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies
Chapter Title: "Binational Same-Sex Couples and Families"
Pub. Date: 2016 Access Date: May 29, 2016
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc.
City: Thousand Oaks,
Print ISBN: 9781483371306
Online ISBN: 9781483371283
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483371283.n46
Print pages: 116-119
©2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.. All Rights Reserved.
This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online version will vary from the pagination of the print book.