Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the Marshall Islands may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Same-sex sexual activity is legal since 2005. Age of consent is equal, regardless of sex.

Recognition of same-sex unions

The Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

 does not recognize same-sex unions in any form.

Discrimination protections

There is no legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...

 or gender identity

Gender identity

A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...

.

See also

• Politics of the Marshall Islands
  Politics of the Marshall Islands
  Citizens of the Marshall Islands live with a relatively new democratic political system combined with a hierarchical traditional culture.There have been some incidents of human rights concern, however, such as undue government pressure on the judiciary and the press.The territorial claim by the...
  
  
• LGBT rights in Oceania
  LGBT rights in Oceania
  Oceania is, like other continents, quite diverse in its laws regarding homosexuality. This ranges from significant rights granted to the LGBT community in e.g. Australia and New Zealand to remaining criminal penalties for homosexual activity in e.g. Kiribati and Nauru.-References:...