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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Presidential Proclamation -- Blind
Americans Equality Day, 2013. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>BLIND AMERICANS EQUALITY DAY, 2013. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>A PROCLAMATION:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Blind and visually impaired persons
have always played an important role in American life and culture, and today we
recommit to our goals of full access and opportunity. Whether sprinting across
finish lines, leading innovation in business and government, or creating
powerful music and art, blind and visually impaired Americans imagine and
pursue ideas and goals that move our country forward. As a Nation, it is our
task to ensure they can always access the tools and support they need to turn
those ideas and goals into realities.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>My Administration is committed to
advancing opportunity for people with disabilities through the Americans with
Disabilities Act and other important avenues. In June of this year, the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
joined with over 150 countries in approving a landmark treaty that aims to
expand access for visually impaired persons and other persons with print
disabilities to information, culture, and education. By facilitating access to
books and other printed material, the treaty holds the potential to open up
worlds of knowledge. If the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region> becomes a party to this treaty, we
can reduce the book famine that confronts the blind community while maintaining
the integrity of the international copyright framework.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> was also proud to
join 141 other countries in signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities in 2009, and we are working toward its ratification.
Americans with Disabilities, including those who are blind or visually
impaired, should have the same opportunities to work, study, and travel in
other countries as any other American, and the Convention can help us realize
that goal.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>To create a more level playing field
and ensure students with disabilities have access to the general education
curriculum, the Department of Education issued new guidance in June for the use
of Braille as a literacy tool under the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act. This guidance reaffirms my Administration's commitment to using Braille to
open doors for students who are blind or visually impaired, so every student
has a chance to succeed in the classroom and graduate from high school prepared
for college and careers.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>We have come a long way in our
journey toward a more perfect <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>, but we
still have work ahead. We must fulfill the promise of life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness and expand the freedom to make of our lives what we will.
On this day, we celebrate the accomplishments of our blind and visually
impaired citizens, and we recommit to building a Nation where all Americans,
including those who are blind or visually impaired, live with the assurance of
equal opportunity and equal respect.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>By joint resolution approved on
October 6, 1964 (Public Law 88-628, as amended), the Congress designated
October 15 of each year as "White Cane Safety Day" to recognize the
contributions of Americans who are blind or have low vision. Today, let us
recommit to ensuring we remain a Nation where all our people, including those
with disabilities, have every opportunity to achieve their dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA,
President of the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States of America</st1:country-region>,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
do hereby proclaim October 15, 2013, as Blind Americans Equality Day. I call
upon public officials, business and community leaders, educators, librarians,
and Americans across the country to observe this day with appropriate
ceremonies, activities, and programs.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto
set my hand this eleventh day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand
thirteen, and of the <st1:City w:st="on">Independence</st1:City> of the United
States of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>
the two hundred and thirty-eighth.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>BARACK OBAMA<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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