[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 16, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 32379-32380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15489]



[[Page 32377]]

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Part VII





The President





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Proclamation 7203--Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, 1999



Proclamation 7204--Flag Day and National Flag Week, 1999



Executive Order 13126--Prohibtion of Acquisition of Products Produced 
by Forced or Indentured Child Labor
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 16, 1999 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 7203 of June 11, 1999

                
Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, 1999

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Thirty years ago this month, at the Stonewall Inn in 
                New York City, a courageous group of citizens resisted 
                harassment and mistreatment, setting in motion a chain 
                of events that would become known as the Stonewall 
                Uprising and the birth of the modern gay and lesbian 
                civil rights movement. Gays and lesbians, their 
                families and friends, celebrate the anniversary of 
                Stonewall every June in America as Gay and Lesbian 
                Pride Month; and, earlier this month, the National Park 
                Service added the Stonewall Inn, as well as the nearby 
                park and neighborhood streets surrounding it, to the 
                National Register of Historic Places.

                I am proud of the measures my Administration has taken 
                to end discrimination against gays and lesbians and 
                ensure that they have the same rights guaranteed to 
                their fellow Americans. Last year, I signed an 
                Executive order that amends Federal equal employment 
                opportunity policy to prohibit discrimination in the 
                Federal civilian work force based on sexual 
                orientation. We have also banned discrimination based 
                on sexual orientation in the granting of security 
                clearances. As a result of these and other policies, 
                gay and lesbian Americans serve openly and proudly 
                throughout the Federal Government. My Administration is 
                also working with congressional leaders to pass the 
                Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit 
                most private employers from firing workers solely 
                because of their sexual orientation.

                America's diversity is our greatest strength. But, 
                while we have come a long way on our journey toward 
                tolerance, understanding, and mutual respect, we still 
                have a long way to go in our efforts to end 
                discrimination. During the past year, people across our 
                country have been shaken by violent acts that struck at 
                the heart of what it means to be an American and at the 
                values that have always defined us as a Nation. In 
                1997, the most recent year for which we have 
                statistics, there were more than 8,000 reported hate 
                crimes in our country--almost one an hour. Now is the 
                time for us to take strong and decisive action to end 
                all hate crimes, and I reaffirm my pledge to work with 
                the Congress to pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

                But we cannot achieve true tolerance merely through 
                legislation; we must change hearts and minds as well. 
                Our greatest hope for a just society is to teach our 
                children to respect one another, to appreciate our 
                differences, and to recognize the fundamental values 
                that we hold in common. As part of our efforts to 
                achieve this goal, earlier this spring, I announced 
                that the Departments of Justice and Education will work 
                in partnership with educational and other private 
                sector organizations to reach out to students and teach 
                them that our diversity is a gift. In addition, the 
                Department of Education has issued landmark guidance 
                that explains Federal standards against sexual 
                harassment and prohibits sexual harassment of all 
                students regardless of their sexual orientation; and I 
                have ordered the Education Department's civil rights 
                office to step up its enforcement of anti-
                discrimination and harassment rules. That effort has 
                resulted in a groundbreaking guide that provides 
                practical guidance to school administrators and 
                teachers

[[Page 32380]]

                for developing a comprehensive approach to protecting 
                all students, including gays and lesbians, from 
                harassment and violence.

                Since our earliest days as a Nation, Americans have 
                strived to make real the ideals of equality and freedom 
                so eloquently expressed in our Declaration of 
                Independence and Constitution. We now have a rare 
                opportunity to enter a new century and a new millennium 
                as one country, living those principles, recognizing 
                our common values, and building on our shared 
                strengths.

                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 1999 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 to 
                remember throughout the year the gay and lesbian 
                Americans whose many and varied contributions have 
                enriched our national life.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen 
                hundred and ninety-nine, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
                third.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 99-15489
Filed 6-15-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P