Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 3.djvu/1294

 92 STAT. 3926

PROCLAMATION 4566—APR. 25, 1978

This year we once again set aside a special day to honor our commitment to the rule of law. For this year's observance, the American Bar Association has selected the theme of "Your Access to Justice." It is a most appropriate one, for it asks us to reflect not only upon how our legal system can be made more responsive to our needs, but also upon the nature of justice itself. Access to justice involves issues that lie beyond the scope of any single group. Ihe law is not the private property of lawyers, nor is justice the exclusive province of judges and juries. In the final analysis, true justice is not a matter of courts and law books, but of a commitment in each of us to liberty and to mutual respect. Ac( ordingly, the efforts of the legal profession to elicit the help and advice of all Americans are to be commended. To encourage the people of the United States to consider their individual responsibilities with respect to our legal system, the Congress, by joint resolution approved April 7, 1961 (75 Stat. 43, 36 U.S.C. 164) has requested the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the American people to observe the first day of May of each year as Law Day, U.S.A. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIMMY CARTER, President of the United States of America, ask all Americans to celebrate Monday, May 1, 1978, as Law Day, U.S.A., and to honor the principle of equal justice under law. I ask all public officials to display the flag of the United States on all public buildings on that day. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and second. JIMMY CARTER

Proclamation 4566

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April 25, 1978

National Architectural Barrier Awareness Week, 1978 By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation Physical access is often the key to whether people can enjoy their rights and freedoms, and exercise their responsibilities. Every day, however, millions of elderly and handicapped Americans are denied access to places of employment, houses of worship, shops, schools, public services, recreational areas and many other facilities that other Americans take for granted. If all Americans are to have true access, we must remove the architectural barriers in our society that block some of our people from full participation and selfreliance. We must also remove the barriers of attitude and custom that have prevented many people from doing what they can.

42 USC 4151 note.

29 USC 794.

The Congress expressed its commitment to the removal of physical barriers from Federal buildings by enacting the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Act in 1968. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, created to enforce that act, will soon launch a national media campaign about barriers using the slogan, "Access America." This Administration has taken steps to improve the access of handicapped citizens by issuing regulations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act which require recipients of federal financial assistance to improve the accessibility of their programs to the disabled. We have also proposed a loan fund to assist institutions to pay for physical alterations when needed.

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