[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 109 (Thursday, June 6, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 33957-33958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13542]


 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 109 / Thursday, June 6, 2013 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 33957]]


                Proclamation 8989 of May 31, 2013

                
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride 
                Month, 2013

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                For more than two centuries, our Nation has struggled 
                to transform the ideals of liberty and equality from 
                founding promise into lasting reality. Lesbian, gay, 
                bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans and their 
                allies have been hard at work on the next great chapter 
                of that history--from the patrons of The Stonewall Inn 
                who sparked a movement to service members who can 
                finally be honest about who they love to brave young 
                people who come out and speak out every day.

                This year, we celebrate LGBT Pride Month at a moment of 
                great hope and progress, recognizing that more needs to 
                be done. Support for LGBT equality is growing, led by a 
                generation which understands that, in the words of Dr. 
                Martin Luther King, Jr., ``injustice anywhere is a 
                threat to justice everywhere.'' In the past year, for 
                the first time, voters in multiple States affirmed 
                marriage equality for same-sex couples. State and local 
                governments have taken important steps to provide much-
                needed protections for transgender Americans.

                My Administration is a proud partner in the journey 
                toward LGBT equality. We extended hate crimes 
                protections to include attacks based on sexual 
                orientation or gender identity and repealed ``Don't 
                Ask, Don't Tell.'' We lifted the HIV entry ban and 
                ensured hospital visitation rights for LGBT patients. 
                Together, we have investigated and addressed pervasive 
                bullying faced by LGBT students, prohibited 
                discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender 
                identity in Federal housing, and extended benefits for 
                same-sex domestic partners. Earlier this year, I signed 
                a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act 
                (VAWA) that prohibits discrimination on the basis of 
                sexual orientation or gender identity in the 
                implementation of any VAWA-funded program. And because 
                LGBT rights are human rights, my Administration is 
                implementing the first-ever Federal strategy to advance 
                equality for LGBT people around the world.

                We have witnessed real and lasting change, but our work 
                is not complete. I continue to support a fully 
                inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, as well as 
                the Respect for Marriage Act. My Administration 
                continues to implement the Affordable Care Act, which 
                beginning in 2014, prohibits insurers from denying 
                coverage to consumers based on their sexual orientation 
                or gender identity, as well as the National HIV/AIDS 
                Strategy, which addresses the disparate impact of the 
                HIV epidemic among certain LGBT sub-communities. We 
                have a long way to go, but if we continue on this path 
                together, I am confident that one day soon, from coast 
                to coast, all of our young people will look to the 
                future with the same sense of promise and possibility. 
                I am confident because I have seen the talent, passion, 
                and commitment of LGBT advocates and their allies, and 
                I know that when voices are joined in common purpose, 
                they cannot be stopped.

                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 2013 as Lesbian, 
                Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon 
                the people of

[[Page 33958]]

                the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it 
                exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the 
                American people.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2013-13542
Filed 6-5-13; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F3