17 Bipartisan Legislators Introduce Bill to Revoke Bill Cosby's Medal of Freedom

Statement

Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after introducing bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4354, supported by 16 bipartisan cosponsors to affirm a mechanism for the president to strip Bill Cosby of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and impose criminal penalties for anyone who wears or publicly displays a Presidential Medal of Freedom that has been revoked:

"I'm pleased to see so many of my colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, join me in taking a stand to defend the integrity of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This distinguished accolade is an important symbol of our country. It is time for our elected leaders to boldly take action for what is right and join together in condemning abhorrent behavior like that of Bill Cosby. Revoking Bill Cosby's Medal of Freedom won't undo his actions or heal the wounds of his victims, but it will signal to the American people that we will not tolerate such lewd behavior. It is time to reclaim our nation's moral compass.

"It is true that there is a presumption of innocence in the American legal system, and rightly so. And while our criminal justice system will ultimately determine whether Cosby serves jail time for any of the crimes of which he has been accused, Cosby's own admissions to drugging women with the intention to satisfy his sexual desires place him outside the bounds of whom we should admire in our society.

"One of my constituents said it best: Civilian honors such as this come with no legal protections or guarantees...Honors are optional, and not anyone's legal right to have and keep…The bar should be extraordinarily high for the Medal of Freedom, and to keep Cosby as a recipient greatly diminishes the very worth of that honor."

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