Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 108 / Monday, June 7, 2010 / Presidential Documents 32079 

Proclamation 8529 of May 28, 2010 

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, 2010 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

As Americans, it is our birthright that all people are created equal and 

deserve the same rights, privileges, and opportunities. Since our earliest 

days of independence, our Nation has striven to fulfill that promise. An 

important chapter in our great, unfinished story is the movement for fairness 

and equality on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 

community. This month, as we recognize the immeasurable contributions 

of LGBT Americans, we renew our commitment to the struggle for equal 

rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever 

it exists. 

LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the fabric of our national 

life. From business leaders and professors to athletes and first responders, 

LGBT individuals have achieved success and prominence in every discipline. 

They are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our friends 

and neighbors. Across my Administration, openly LGBT employees are serving at every level. Thanks to those who came before us—the brave men 

and women who marched, stood up to injustice, and brought change through 

acts of compassion or defiance—we have made enormous progress and continue to strive for a more perfect union. 

My Administration has advanced our journey by signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which 

strengthens Federal protections against crimes based on gender identity or 

sexual orientation. We renewed the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides 

life-saving medical services and support to Americans living with HIV/ 

AIDS, and finally eliminated the HIV entry ban. I also signed a Presidential 

Memorandum directing hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds 

to give LGBT patients the compassion and security they deserve in their 

time of need, including the ability to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions. 

In other areas, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 

announced a series of proposals to ensure core housing programs are open 

to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. HUD also 

announced the first-ever national study of discrimination against members 

of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing. Additionally, 

the Department of Health and Human Services has created a National Resource Center for LGBT Elders. 

Much work remains to fulfill our Nation’s promise of equal justice under 

law for LGBT Americans. That is why we must give committed gay couples 

the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and 

repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. We must protect the rights of LGBT 

families by securing their adoption rights, ending employment discrimination 

against LGBT Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal 

benefits. We must create safer schools so all our children may learn in 

a supportive environment. I am also committed to ending ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t 

Tell’’ so patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our military, and 

I am working with the Congress and our military leadership to accomplish 

that goal. 

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32080 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 108 / Monday, June 7, 2010 / Presidential Documents 

As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much to our Nation, 

let us remember that if one of us is unable to realize full equality, we 

all fall short of our founding principles. Our Nation draws its strength 

from our diversity, with each of us contributing to the greater whole. By 

affirming these rights and values, each American benefits from the further 

advancement of liberty and justice for all. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 June 2010 as Lesbian, 

Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon all Americans 

to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their 

own lives and everywhere it exists. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth 

day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13672 

Filed 6–4–10; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3195–W0–P 


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