President Joe Biden issued a Bill of Rights Day proclamation on Wednesday, commemorating the first set of amendments to the Constitution that protect “fundamental American freedoms.”
The Bill of Rights was ratified on Dec. 15, 1791, as the fledgling nation worked out crucial details of how it would be governed. The official Bill of Rights Day will be Thursday, marking 231 years since the amendments went into effect.
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“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,” read Biden’s proclamation. “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 proclamation continues, which is “the capacity for compromise and self-improvement.” By setting these freedoms into the Constitution, it won over states that were wary of the federal government.
“The basic rights it guarantees — to religion, speech, press, privacy, and more — have come to define our nation,” Biden said. “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.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Biden backed an “assault weapons ban,” a plea he has made often in an attempt to emulate a policy that was in place between 1994 and 2004.
Opponents of the measure often cite the Second Amendment, which is also part of the Bill of Rights.
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“Freedom is not free — it requires constant vigilance,” Biden said. “And nothing about our democracy is guaranteed. Every generation has had to defend our constitution, including ours today.”
