Presidential proclamation on LGBT Pride Month 2013

Today President Barack Obama signed the following proclamation regarding LGBT Pride Month, 2013.

For more than two centuries, our Nation has struggled to transform the ideals of liberty and equality from
founding promise into lasting reality. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) Americans and their allies have been hard at work on the next great
chapter of that history — from the patrons of The Stonewall Inn who sparked a
movement to service members who can finally be honest about who they love to
brave young people who come out and speak out every day.

This year, we celebrate LGBT Pride Month at a moment of
great hope and progress, recognizing that more needs to be done. Support for
LGBT equality is growing, led by a generation which understands that, in the
words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “injustice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere.” In the past year, for the first time, voters in
multiple States affirmed marriage equality for same-sex couples. State and
local governments have taken important steps to provide much-needed protections
for transgender Americans.

My Administration is a proud partner in the journey toward
LGBT equality. We extended hate crimes protections to include attacks based on
sexual orientation or gender identity and repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell.” We lifted the HIV entry ban and ensured hospital visitation rights
for LGBT patients. Together, we have investigated and addressed pervasive bullying
faced by LGBT students, prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation
and gender identity in Federal housing, and extended benefits for same-sex
domestic partners. Earlier this year, I signed a reauthorization of the
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that prohibits discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation or gender identity in the implementation of any VAWA-funded
program. And because LGBT rights are human rights, my Administration is
implementing the first-ever Federal strategy to advance equality for LGBT
people around the world.

We have witnessed real and lasting change, but our work is
not complete. I continue to support a fully inclusive Employment
Non-Discrimination Act, as well as the Respect for Marriage Act. My
Administration continues to implement the Affordable Care Act, which beginning
in 2014, prohibits insurers from denying coverage to consumers based on their
sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as the National HIV/AIDS
Strategy, which addresses the disparate impact of the HIV epidemic among
certain LGBT sub-communities. We have a long way to go, but if we continue on
this path together, I am confident that one day soon, from coast to coast, all
of our young people will look to the future with the same sense of promise and possibility.
I am confident because I have seen the talent, passion, and commitment of LGBT
advocates and their allies, and I know that when voices are joined in common
purpose, they cannot be stopped.

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 2013 as Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the
United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the
great diversity of the American people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA