Presidential Documents

102673 

Federal Register 

Vol. 89, No. 243 

Wednesday, December 18, 2024 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 10872 of December 13, 2024 

Bill of Rights Day, 2024 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

America is the only country in the world founded on an idea: that we 

are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our 

lives. Two hundred and thirty-three years ago today, that idea was at the 

heart of our Nation’s Bill of Rights, launching the greatest self-government 

experiment in the history of the world and endowing all of us with fundamental rights and liberties. Today, we recommit to safeguarding those first 

10 freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and all the progress we have 

made to protect Americans since. 

The freedoms guaranteed to us in the Bill of Rights help define the soul 

of our Nation. The first 10 Amendments to the United States Constitution 

include the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and privacy, which 

form our Nation’s north star. And the 17 additional Amendments that came 

later helped our Nation realize its promise of liberty and justice for all— 

from abolishing our Nation’s original sin of slavery to giving women the 

right to vote. 

But freedom is never guaranteed—every generation has had to defend and 

fight for it. In recent years, long-established civil rights principles and protections have been undermined and challenged. The Supreme Court gutted 

the Voting Rights Act in 2013, opening the floodgates to a new wave of 

restrictive voting laws that States across the country have passed. AntiLGBTQI+ rights bills have emboldened discrimination against Americans 

for who they are and whom they love. And in 2022, the Court overruled 

Roe v. Wade and took away the constitutional right to choose, which had 

been the law of the land for nearly 50 years. 

As President, I made it my mission to protect our democracy and the 

freedoms it guarantees. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, 

I took executive action to protect women’s access to reproductive health 

care. To protect the will of the people, right to vote, and have that vote 

counted—which is the threshold of democracy and liberty—I signed the 

Electoral Count Reform Act to ensure the peaceful transfer of power. And 

to protect the civil rights and liberties of LGBTQI+ Americans, I signed 

the landmark Respect for Marriage Act, upholding the rights of same-sex 

and interracial couples. But there is still more to do to ensure that our 

Nation respects the civil rights and liberties of all Americans. I continue 

to call on the Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in Federal 

law and pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights 

Advancement Act. 

On Bill of Rights Day, we recommit to protecting and expanding Americans’ 

civil rights and liberties. We must continue fighting for progress and following our Nation’s north star, securing dignity and respect for all Americans. 

And we must continue to strengthen the guardrails of our democracy, ensuring that our Nation and all the freedoms it guarantees will be enjoyed 

for generations to come. I know we can do it—because together, nothing 

is beyond our capacity. 

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 


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102674 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 18, 2024 / Presidential Documents 

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 15, 2024, 

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 thirteenth day 

of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of 

the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 

forty-ninth. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30300 

Filed 12–17–24; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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