    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 23 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
    [Pages 1271-1272]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Proclamation 7316--Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, 2000

    June 2, 2000

    By the President of the United States

    of America

    A Proclamation

        Gay and lesbian Americans have made important and lasting
    contributions to our Nation in every field of endeavor. Too often,
    however, gays and lesbians face prejudice and discrimination; too many
    have had to hide or deny their sexual orientation in order to keep their
    jobs or to live safely in their communities.
        In recent years, we have made some progress righting these wrongs.
    Since the Stonewall uprising in New York City more than 30 years ago,
    the gay and lesbian rights movement has united gays and lesbians, their
    families and friends, and all those committed to justice and equality in
    a crusade to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices and to protect
    gays and lesbians from prejudice and persecution.
        I am proud of the part that my Administration has played to achieve
    these goals. Today, more openly gay and lesbian individuals serve in
    senior posts throughout the Federal Government than during any other
    Administration. To build on our progress, in 1998 I issued an Executive
    Order to prohibit discrimination in the Federal civilian workforce based
    on sexual orientation, and my Administration continues to fight for the
    Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would outlaw discrimination in
    the workplace based on sexual orientation.
        Yet many challenges still lie before us. As we have learned from
    recent tragedies, prejudice against gays and lesbians can still erupt
    into acts of hatred and violence. I continue to call upon the Congress
    to pass meaningful hate crimes legislation to strengthen the Department
    of Justice's ability to prosecute hate crimes committed due to the
    victim's sexual orientation.
        With each passing year the American people become more receptive to
    diversity and more open to those who are different from themselves. Our
    Nation is at last realizing that gays and lesbians must no longer be
    ``strangers among friends,'' as the civil rights pioneer David Mixner
    once noted. Rather, we must finally recognize these Americans for what
    they are: our colleagues and neighbors, daughters and sons, sisters and
    brothers, friends and partners.
        This June, recognizing the joys and sorrows that the gay and lesbian
    movement has witnessed and the work that remains to be done, we observe
    Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and celebrate the progress we have made in
    creating a society more inclusive and accepting of gays and lesbians. I
    hope that in this new millennium we will continue to break down the
    walls of fear and prejudice and work to build a bridge to understanding
    and tolerance, until gays and lesbians are afforded the same rights and
    responsibilities as all Americans.
        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 2000
    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 recognize 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 second day of
    June, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of
    the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.
                                                William J. Clinton

    [[Page 1272]]

    [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:25 a.m., June 5,
    2000]

    Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on June 6.
    This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate
    issue.