Some advisors felt that Johnson should quietly sign the law because they thought it was a bad idea to make his opponents angrier than they already were. But Johnson believed that the law might be the most important document signed by a president since Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves. Johnson invited important Americans and foreign diplomats to the East Room of the White House. He signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964. The principles of our freedom forbid it.
Morality forbids it.
And the law I will sign tonight forbids it.