65FR36049 P-7316 Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, 2000
The President of the United States
Posting-number: Volume 65, Issue 109, Page 36049
[Federal Register: June 6, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 109)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Page 36049-36052]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06jn00-174]
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Part VII
The President
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Proclamation 7316--Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, 2000
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
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Proclamation 7316 of June 2, 2000
Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, 2000
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Gay and lesbian Americans have made important and
lasting contributions to our Nation in every field of
endeavor. Too often, however, gays and lesbians face
prejudice and discrimination; too many have had to hide
or deny their sexual orientation in order to keep their
jobs or to live safely in their communities.
In recent years, we have made some progress righting
these wrongs. Since the Stonewall uprising in New York
City more than 30 years ago, the gay and lesbian rights
movement has united gays and lesbians, their families
and friends, and all those committed to justice and
equality in a crusade to outlaw discriminatory laws and
practices and to protect gays and lesbians from
prejudice and persecution.
I am proud of the part that my Administration has
played to achieve these goals. Today, more openly gay
and lesbian individuals serve in senior posts
throughout the Federal Government than during any other
Administration. To build on our progress, in 1998 I
issued an Executive Order to prohibit discrimination in
the Federal civilian workforce based on sexual
orientation, and my Administration continues to fight
for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would
outlaw discrimination in the workplace based on sexual
orientation.
Yet many challenges still lie before us. As we have
learned from recent tragedies, prejudice against gays
and lesbians can still erupt into acts of hatred and
violence. I continue to call upon the Congress to pass
meaningful hate crimes legislation to strengthen the
Department of Justice's ability to prosecute hate
crimes committed due to the victim's sexual
orientation.
With each passing year the American people become more
receptive to diversity and more open to those who are
different from themselves. Our Nation is at last
realizing that gays and lesbians must no longer be
``strangers among friends,'' as the civil rights
pioneer David Mixner once noted. Rather, we must
finally recognize these Americans for what they are:
our colleagues and neighbors, daughters and sons,
sisters and brothers, friends and partners.
This June, recognizing the joys and sorrows that the
gay and lesbian movement has witnessed and the work
that remains to be done, we observe Gay and Lesbian
Pride Month and celebrate the progress we have made in
creating a society more inclusive and accepting of gays
and lesbians. I hope that in this new millennium we
will continue to break down the walls of fear and
prejudice and work to build a bridge to understanding
and tolerance, until gays and lesbians are afforded the
same rights and responsibilities as all Americans.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim June 2000 as Gay and Lesbian
Pride Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this
month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities that celebrate our diversity and recognize
the gay and lesbian Americans whose many and varied
contributions have enriched our national life.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
second day of June, in the year of our Lord two
thousand, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.
(Presidential Sig.)<Clinton1><Clinton2>
[FR Doc. 00-14440
Filed 6-5-00; 11:25 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P