Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 19, 2023 / Presidential Documents 87653 

Proclamation 10686 of December 14, 2023 

Bill of Rights Day, 2023 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

On December 15, 1791, after years of debate and deliberation, our forebearers 

ratified the Bill of Rights. In doing so, they forever enshrined the fundamental 

rights and liberties we hold sacred as Americans and set in motion the 

greatest self-governance experiment in the history of the world. 

The freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights—the freedoms of religion, 

speech, press, assembly, privacy, and more—have helped define who we 

are as a people and served as our Nation’s enduring North Star. The 17 

additional Amendments that have been ratified since have opened the doors 

of opportunity wider to each new generation. But time and again we have 

been reminded that progress is not linear and freedom is never guaranteed; 

it requires constant vigilance. 

The Supreme Court took away a constitutional right from the American 

people, denying women across the Nation the right to choose, a right that 

had been enshrined in a half-century of precedent. In recent years, more 

than 20 States have passed laws that make it harder to vote. A wave 

of anti-LGBTQI+ bills is threatening Americans’ freedom to live openly 

and authentically. As a Nation, we have a duty to oppose these regressions 

and defend the values represented in our founding documents. 

As President, I act on that duty every day. In the wake of the Supreme 

Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, I issued three Executive Orders 

to protect a woman’s ability to access comprehensive reproductive health 

care services. I continue to call on the Congress to restore the protections 

of Roe v. Wade in Federal law. Because the right to vote and have your 

vote counted is the threshold of democracy, I continue to urge the Congress 

to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. These bills would restore and expand access to the ballot and 

prevent voter suppression. I was also proud to sign the Electoral Count 

Reform Act, helping preserve the will of the people and protect the peaceful 

transfer of power. My Administration has made strides in defending the 

rights and dignity of the LGBTQI+ community. On my first day in office, 

I signed a historic Executive Order charging the Federal Government with 

protecting LGBTQI+ people from discrimination. Last December, surrounded 

by dozens of couples who have fought for marriage equality in the courts 

for decades, I had the great honor of signing into law the landmark Respect 

for Marriage Act to protect the rights of same-sex and interracial couples. 

It is worth giving our all for the rights and liberties that undergird our 

democracy, for they define the soul of our Nation. This cause should unite 

every one of us, regardless of political affiliation. In the face of threats 

posed to our institutions, we must remember that democracies do not have 

to die violently—they can die quietly, when people fail to stand up for 

the values and guarantees enshrined in our Nation’s Constitution. This Bill 

of Rights Day, let us all recommit to safeguarding the fundamental freedoms 

secured in those first 10 Amendments and those that followed. In our 

lives and in the life of our Nation, let us keep marching toward our North 

Star—making real the promise of dignity, equality, and opportunity for all. 


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87654 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 19, 2023 / Presidential Documents 

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 December 15, 2023, 

as Bill of Rights Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe 

this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day 

of December, 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-eighth. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27968 

Filed 12–18–23; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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