Hall of Shame

Pasco NOW Awards Bilirakis First Quit Looking Up My Skirt Award

On Saturday August 18, 2012 Pasco County NOW President Doris Rosen presented Representative Gus Bilirakis with the “Quit Looking Up My Skirt Award” for 2011. Mr. Bilirakis is the first recipient of the award which recognizes the county, state, or federal government official serving Pasco with the worst record of ignoring women’s rights to privacy and autonomy over their own bodies in the preceding year. Awardees are inducted into the Pasco County NOW Hall of Shame.

“Representative Bilirakis consistently cosponsors and votes for bills that deny the right of women to make decisions about their own bodies,” President Rosen stated. “For example, he joined Todd Akin as a co-sponsor of HR3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act that attempted to parse rape into categories, allowing federally funded abortion only for ‘forcible rape’ and that also limited the incest exception to minors.” Mr. Bilirakis is a co-sponsor of HR374, Life at Conception Act which seeks to define the unborn as persons with the protections of the 14th amendment in an effort to reverse the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

Officials are nominated and rated by Board Members. The worst legislator is selected by a majority vote of the members of Pasco County NOW.

The award is given in hopes of starting a dialog between the recipient and Pasco NOW to educate, inform and bring an understanding that true equality for women means making their own decisions regarding their lives and their bodies.