[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 108 (Monday, June 7, 2010)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 32079-32080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13672]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 108 / Monday, June 7, 2010 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 32079]]
Proclamation 8529 of May 28, 2010
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride
Month, 2010
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
As Americans, it is our birthright that all people are
created equal and deserve the same rights, privileges,
and opportunities. Since our earliest days of
independence, our Nation has striven to fulfill that
promise. An important chapter in our great, unfinished
story is the movement for fairness and equality on
behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) community. This month, as we recognize the
immeasurable contributions of LGBT Americans, we renew
our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for
LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice
wherever it exists.
LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the
fabric of our national life. From business leaders and
professors to athletes and first responders, LGBT
individuals have achieved success and prominence in
every discipline. They are our mothers and fathers, our
sons and daughters, and our friends and neighbors.
Across my Administration, openly LGBT employees are
serving at every level. Thanks to those who came before
us--the brave men and women who marched, stood up to
injustice, and brought change through acts of
compassion or defiance--we have made enormous progress
and continue to strive for a more perfect union.
My Administration has advanced our journey by signing
into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate
Crimes Prevention Act, which strengthens Federal
protections against crimes based on gender identity or
sexual orientation. We renewed the Ryan White CARE Act,
which provides life-saving medical services and support
to Americans living with HIV/AIDS, and finally
eliminated the HIV entry ban. I also signed a
Presidential Memorandum directing hospitals receiving
Medicare and Medicaid funds to give LGBT patients the
compassion and security they deserve in their time of
need, including the ability to choose someone other
than an immediate family member to visit them and make
medical decisions.
In other areas, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) announced a series of proposals to
ensure core housing programs are open to everyone,
regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
HUD also announced the first-ever national study of
discrimination against members of the LGBT community in
the rental and sale of housing. Additionally, the
Department of Health and Human Services has created a
National Resource Center for LGBT Elders.
Much work remains to fulfill our Nation's promise of
equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. That is why
we must give committed gay couples the same rights and
responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and
repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. We must protect the
rights of LGBT families by securing their adoption
rights, ending employment discrimination against LGBT
Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal
benefits. We must create safer schools so all our
children may learn in a supportive environment. I am
also committed to ending ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' so
patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our
military, and I am working with the Congress and our
military leadership to accomplish that goal.
[[Page 32080]]
As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much
to our Nation, let us remember that if one of us is
unable to realize full equality, we all fall short of
our founding principles. Our Nation draws its strength
from our diversity, with each of us contributing to the
greater whole. By affirming these rights and values,
each American benefits from the further advancement of
liberty and justice for all.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim June 2010 as Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon
all Americans to observe this month by fighting
prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and
everywhere it exists.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2010-13672
Filed 6-4-10; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W0-P