[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 4, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19799-19800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07089]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 64 / Tuesday, April 4, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 19799]]


                Proclamation 10538 of March 30, 2023

                
Transgender Day of Visibility, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Transgender Day of Visibility celebrates the joy, 
                strength, and absolute courage of some of the bravest 
                people I know--people who have too often had to put 
                their jobs, relationships, and lives on the line just 
                to be their true selves. Today, we show millions of 
                transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, 
                they belong, and they should be treated with dignity 
                and respect. Their courage has given countless others 
                strength, but no one should have to be brave just to be 
                themselves. Every American deserves that freedom.

                Transgender Americans shape our Nation's soul--proudly 
                serving in the military, curing deadly diseases, 
                holding elected office, running thriving businesses, 
                fighting for justice, raising families, and much more. 
                As kids, they deserve what every child deserves: the 
                chance to learn in safe and supportive schools, to 
                develop meaningful friendships, and to live openly and 
                honestly. As adults, they deserve the same rights 
                enjoyed by every American, including equal access to 
                health care, housing, and jobs and the chance to age 
                with grace as senior citizens. But today, too many 
                transgender Americans are still denied those rights and 
                freedoms. A wave of discriminatory State laws is 
                targeting transgender youth, terrifying families and 
                hurting kids who are not hurting anyone. An epidemic of 
                violence against transgender women and girls, in 
                particular women and girls of color, has taken lives 
                far too soon. Last year's Club Q shooting in Colorado 
                was another painful example of this kind of violence--a 
                stain on the conscience of our Nation.

                My Administration has fought to end these injustices 
                from day one, working to ensure that transgender people 
                and the entire LGBTQI+ community can live openly and 
                safely. On my first day as President, I issued an 
                Executive Order directing the Federal Government to 
                root out discrimination against LGBTQI+ people and 
                their families. We have appointed a record number of 
                openly LGBTQI+ leaders, and I was proud to rescind the 
                ban on openly transgender people serving in the 
                military. We are also working to make public spaces and 
                travel more accessible, including with more inclusive 
                gender markers on United States passports. We are 
                improving access to public services and entitlements 
                like Social Security. We are cracking down on 
                discrimination in housing and education. And last 
                December, I signed the Respect for Marriage Act into 
                law, ensuring that every American can marry the person 
                they love and have that marriage accepted, period.

                Meanwhile, we are also working to ease the tremendous 
                strain that discrimination, bullying, and harassment 
                can put on transgender children--more than half of whom 
                seriously considered suicide in the last year. The 
                Department of Education is, for example, helping ensure 
                that transgender students have equal opportunities to 
                learn and thrive at school, and the Department of 
                Justice is pushing back against extreme laws that seek 
                to ban evidence-based gender-affirming health care.

                There is much more to do. I continue to call on the 
                Congress to finally pass the Equality Act and extend 
                long-overdue civil rights protections to all LGBTQI+ 
                Americans to ensure they can live with safety and 
                dignity.

[[Page 19800]]

                Together, we also have to keep challenging the hundreds 
                of hateful State laws that have been introduced across 
                the country, making sure every child knows that they 
                are made in the image of God, that they are loved, and 
                that we are standing up for them.

                America is founded on the idea that all people are 
                created equal and deserve to be treated equally 
                throughout their lives. We have never fully lived up to 
                that, but we have never walked away from it either. 
                Today, as we celebrate transgender people, we also 
                celebrate every American's fundamental right to be 
                themselves, bringing us closer to realizing America's 
                full promise.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 March 31, 
                2023, as Transgender Day of Visibility. I call upon all 
                Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices 
                of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work 
                toward eliminating violence and discrimination against 
                all transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary 
                people.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-07089
Filed 4-3-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P