legal recognition
Sanctioned by law
Legal recognition is official acknowledgment by a government or legal system that something exists and has standing under law.
A marriage gains legal recognition when the state validates it.
Legal recognition of a group, status, or right means it can be enforced and protected: The movement fought for legal recognition of same-sex partnerships.
Without legal recognition, relationships, identities, or agreements may exist socially but carry no official weight.
- civil unionLegal spousal alternative
- marriage equalitySame legal wedlock for all
- marriageFormal union between partners
- citizenshipStatus as state member
- corporationsLegally incorporated business entities
human rights · equal protection · inheritance rights · birth certificate · name change · gender marker · guardianship · power of attorney · enfranchisement · Obergefell v. Hodges · civil liberties · self-determination · adoption · naturalization · legislation · legitimacy · emancipation · sovereignty
- LGBTQgay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer
- gay marriagegay marriage, same-sex wedding, marriage equality, civil union, civil partnership
- legal statuscivil status, personhood, capacity to act, incapacity, citizenship
- LGBTQ rightsgay rights, trans rights, lesbian rights, gay marriage, marriage equality
- Alaska NativesAleut, Unangan, Athabaskan, Athabascan, Haida
- cohabitation lawliving together, domestic partnership, common law marriage, civil union
legal recognitionnon-recognition
Refusal to acknowledge existence
criminalization · illegality · proscription · outlawing · legal limbo