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 Rh Proclamation 8861 of September 12, 2012

''By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation''' As a mark of respect for the memory of John Christopher Stevens, United States Ambassador to Libya, and American personnel killed in the senseless attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, September 16, 2012. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh. BARACK OBAMA Proclamation 8862 of September 13, 2012

''By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation'' Today, we celebrate our heritage as a country bound together by fidelity to a set of ideas and a system of governance first laid out in America’s Constitution. The product of fierce debate and enduring compromise, our Nation’s Constitution has guided our progress from 13 to 50 United States that stretch from sea to shining sea. It has watched over our growth from a fragile experiment in democracy to a beacon of freedom that lights the world. It has vested in each of us the power to appeal to principles that could broaden democracy’s reach.

As we mark this 225th anniversary of the signing of our Constitution, we also recognize the candidates for citizenship who will commemorate this day by joining our American family. For more than two centuries, our country has drawn enterprising men and women from around the world—individuals who have sought to build a life as good as their talents and their hard work would allow. Generations have crossed land and ocean because of the belief that, in America, all things are possible. As a new group 121