[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27681-27682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09540]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 3, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 27681]]


                Proclamation 10568 of April 28, 2023

                
Law Day, U.S.A., 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                When our Founding Fathers convened to write the 
                Constitution over 235 years ago, they set in motion an 
                experiment that changed the world. America would not be 
                a land of kings but a Nation of laws. Since then, 
                generations of Americans have worked to defend and 
                improve our laws, hold accountable those who break or 
                undermine them, and ensure equal rights and protections 
                for all. On Law Day, we celebrate the rule of law and 
                rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of a more perfect 
                Union.

                Our Nation and world are at an inflection point. At 
                home and around the globe, autocrats and dictators 
                threaten the rule of law. Our democracy is under 
                strain, with people's rights, including the sacred 
                right to vote, at risk. We face a choice between moving 
                backward--unravelling so much of the progress our 
                Nation has made--or moving forward toward a future of 
                possibilities and promise.

                We must choose to move forward. That is why my 
                Administration is protecting the right to vote--the 
                right from which all others flow, including the power 
                to establish our Nation's laws. Since taking office, I 
                have issued an Executive Order promoting access to 
                voter registration and election information, and signed 
                into law the Electoral Count Reform Act, which 
                establishes clear guidelines for certifying and 
                counting electoral votes to help preserve the will of 
                the people against future attempts to overturn our 
                elections. The Department of Justice has also 
                strengthened its ability to fight unlawful voter 
                suppression in the courts. I continue to call on the 
                Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John 
                Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to further 
                strengthen our democracy.

                Respecting the rule of law also means supporting equal 
                access to justice. My Administration reestablished the 
                Department of Justice's Office for Access to Justice to 
                help ensure that all Americans, regardless of wealth or 
                status, have quality legal aid when they need it and to 
                remove barriers--including language barriers--that 
                prevent people from understanding and navigating the 
                legal system.

                We are also working to ensure that hate has no safe 
                harbor in America. I signed the bipartisan COVID-19 
                Hate Crimes Act into law, making it easier to report 
                hate crimes and helping State, local, and Tribal law 
                enforcement agencies better track these crimes. I 
                secured the largest-ever increase in funding for the 
                physical security of nonprofits, including churches, 
                gurdwaras, mosques, synagogues, temples, and other 
                houses of worship. I convened the first-ever White 
                House Summit on combating hate-fueled violence, 
                bringing together stakeholders from around the country 
                to reaffirm that nobody should fear going to a 
                religious service, wearing a symbol of their faith, or 
                simply being who they are. And I established a new 
                interagency group to counter antisemitism, 
                Islamophobia, and related forms of bias and 
                discrimination within the United States.

                The United States is standing up for the rule of law 
                around the world. We will continue to marshal security, 
                humanitarian, and economic support for Ukraine as they 
                defend themselves against Russia's unjust war, which

[[Page 27682]]

                is also an attack on the bedrock principle of 
                sovereignty. To support democracy worldwide, I cohosted 
                the second Summit for Democracy in March, bringing 
                together government, civil society, and private sector 
                representatives from around the world to promote 
                transparent and accountable governance, democratic 
                resilience, and respect for human rights. We must 
                support free and independent media, fight the 
                corruption that undermines democratic institutions, 
                ensure new technology is used to strengthen democracy, 
                and defend free and fair elections.

                The theme of this year's Law Day, ``Cornerstones of 
                Democracy: Civics, Civility, and Collaboration,'' 
                acknowledges that each of us has a role to play in 
                defending democracy and the guardrails that make it 
                possible. It also recognizes that the rule of law 
                depends on us seeing one another not as enemies but as 
                fellow Americans. This great national experiment only 
                works if we respect each other's differences, protect 
                each other's freedoms, and work together to ensure that 
                ``We, the People,'' get to choose our own fate and make 
                our own future.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, in accordance with Public 
                Law 87-20, as amended, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2023, 
                as Law Day, U.S.A. I call upon all Americans to 
                acknowledge the importance of our Nation's legal and 
                judicial systems with appropriate ceremonies and 
                activities and to display the flag of the United States 
                in support of this national observance.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-eighth day of April, 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. 2023-09540
Filed 5-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P