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 discrimina-tion; 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