Bill of Rights Day, 2022

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 242 (Monday, December 19, 2022)]

[Presidential Documents]

[Pages 77465-77466]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 2022-27598]

Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 242 / Monday, December 19, 2022 /

Presidential Documents

[[Page 77465]]

Proclamation 10507 of December 14, 2022

Bill of Rights Day, 2022

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

With three simple words--``We the People''--the United

States Constitution set in motion the most

extraordinary experiment in self-governance that the

world has ever known. The Bill of Rights made this

possible, ensuring ratification by every State then in

our new Nation. On Bill of Rights Day, we celebrate the

fundamental American freedoms enshrined in those first

10 Amendments to our Constitution and recommit to

making the full promise of America real for all

Americans.

The Bill of Rights embodies a core American strength:

the capacity for compromise and self-improvement. By

codifying fundamental freedoms, it won over States

skeptical of a Federal Government at the time of our

founding and proved our Constitution to be a living

document, capable of evolving to perfect our Union. The

basic rights it guarantees--to religion, speech, press,

privacy, and more--have come to define our Nation

difying fundamental freedoms, it won over States

skeptical of a Federal Government at the time of our

founding and proved our Constitution to be a living

document, capable of evolving to perfect our Union. The

basic rights it guarantees--to religion, speech, press,

privacy, and more--have come to define our Nation. And

in the over two centuries since their enumeration, 17

other Amendments have been ratified--ending slavery,

ensuring equal protection under the law, giving women

the right to vote, banning poll taxes, and more--

opening the door of opportunity a little wider with

each generation.

But freedom is not free--it requires constant

vigilance. And nothing about our democracy is

guaranteed. Every generation has had to defend our

Constitution, including ours today. The right to

choose--grounded in the 14th Amendment, enshrined in a

half-century of precedent, and relied on for

generations--is now under assault. A wave of anti-

LGBTQI+ bills is attacking Americans' freedom to be

themselves. In recent years, at least 20 States have

passed laws that make it harder to vote. And we have

seen new threats to the rule of law that disregard the

will of the people.

d relied on for

generations--is now under assault. A wave of anti-

LGBTQI+ bills is attacking Americans' freedom to be

themselves. In recent years, at least 20 States have

passed laws that make it harder to vote. And we have

seen new threats to the rule of law that disregard the

will of the people.

At the same time, we have also seen tens of millions of

Americans stand up to protect our rights and stand

against any of these attempts to take our country

backwards. I am determined to be a partner in that

work. My Administration has taken immediate action to

protect reproductive health care, access to

contraception, the privacy of sensitive health

information, and more; and we will keep fighting to

pass a Federal law restoring every woman's right to

choose. I was also proud to sign the Respect for

Marriage Act this month and will keep working to

advance equality for LGBTQI+ communities, fighting to

pass the Equality Act, and building on Executive Orders

tackling discrimination in health care, foster care,

housing, schools, and more. And because voting is

democracy's threshold liberty--a sacred right on which

all our other freedoms rely--I am pushing for new

investments to secure voting sites and equipment and to

recruit and train election workers. I issued an

Executive Order directing Federal agencies to expand

access to voter registration. I appointed top civil

rights advocates to the Department of Justice, which

has separately doubled its own voting rights staff

investments to secure voting sites and equipment and to

recruit and train election workers. I issued an

Executive Order directing Federal agencies to expand

access to voter registration. I appointed top civil

rights advocates to the Department of Justice, which

has separately doubled its own voting rights staff. And

I will keep pushing to pass the John Lewis Voting

Rights Advancement and Freedom to Vote Acts, as well as

the Electoral Count Reform Act, to make voting easier

and our democracy more secure.

The Bill of Rights consecrates twin American ideals of

equality and democracy. They are the rock on which our

Nation is built and the reasons

[[Page 77466]]

why America has long been a beacon to the world. Our

democracy will be preserved not just in courts of law

but also in people's habits of heart. It lives in our

national character, courage, and optimism and in the

fundamental empathy that underlies our system of

government--a willingness to see each other not as

enemies but as fellow citizens with equal rights.

Today, we recommit to defending and extending that

promise to everyone.

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,

2022, as Bill of Rights Day. I call upon the people of

the United States to observe this day with appropriate

ceremonies and activities.

t 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,

2022, 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-two, and of the Independence of the

United States of America the two hundred and forty-

seventh.

(Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2022-27598

Filed 12-16-22; 8:45 am]

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