[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 2015)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 78957-78958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31976]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 80 , No. 243 / Friday, December 18, 2015 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 78957]]

                Proclamation 9381 of December 14, 2015

                
Bill of Rights Day, 2015

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The ratification of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 
                1791, marked one of our country's earliest and most 
                important steps toward ensuring that the ideals 
                enshrined in our founding documents are the birthright 
                of all Americans. Written to guarantee our fledgling 
                Nation would never succumb to the tyranny it fought 
                against, these first 10 Amendments to our Constitution 
                help safeguard the bedrock principles of equality, 
                liberty, and justice. In the years since, America has 
                carried forward the spirit enshrined in the Bill of 
                Rights--recognizing that freedom is a value we must 
                forever work to uphold.

                Each generation is tasked with continuing the work of 
                perfecting our Nation. In the 224 years since this 
                codification of our most fundamental freedoms, America 
                has been propelled by the persistent effort of her 
                citizens--people from all walks of life who have 
                accepted the challenge of pushing to expand liberty to 
                all. The same American instinct that sparked our 
                revolution and spurred the creation of the Bill of 
                Rights still inspires us to step forward to defend our 
                founding ideals. It is what inspired a groundbreaking 
                convention in Seneca Falls, drove courageous people to 
                march in Selma, and started a transformative movement 
                for LGBT rights at a bar in New York City. Generations 
                of heroes who believed America is a constant work in 
                progress have advocated and sacrificed to realize that 
                progress and have worked to uphold the belief at the 
                heart of the Bill of Rights: Free men and women have 
                the capacity to shape their own destiny and forge a 
                fairer and more just world for all who follow.

                Today, we stand on the shoulders of those who dedicated 
                their lives to upholding the meaning of our founding 
                documents throughout changing times--a mission made 
                possible by the fundamental liberties secured in the 
                Bill of Rights. As we reflect on the strides we have 
                made to lift up an engaged citizenry, we pay tribute to 
                the extraordinary foresight of our Founders who granted 
                the protections that enable us to bring about the 
                change we seek. Let us recommit to continuing our 
                legacy as a Nation that rejects complacency, empowers 
                its citizens to recognize and redress its 
                imperfections, and embraces the struggle of improving 
                our democracy so that all our people are able to make 
                of their lives what they will.

                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 December 15, 2015, as 
                Bill of Rights Day. I call upon the people of the 
                United States to mark this observance with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities.

[[Page 78958]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fourteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2015-31976
Filed 12-17-15; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F6-P