Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed five pieces of legislation into law on Wednesday to protect children in the state from harmful leftist initiatives, including mutilating surgical procedures, radical gender ideology in schools, and sexually explicit drag queen shows.
“Florida is proud to lead the way in standing up for our children,” DeSantis said in a statement in signing the Let Kids Be Kids bill package. “As the world goes mad, Florida represents a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy.”
Senate Bill (SB) 254:
- Outlaws permanent mutilating surgical procedures and experimental puberty blockers for minors.
- Requires adults receiving these surgeries and hormones to be informed about the irreversible nature and dangers.
- Grants Florida courts temporary emergency jurisdiction to intervene and halt procedures for out-of-state children.
- Creates a pathway to recover damages for injury or death resulting from mutilating surgeries or experimental puberty blockers given to a minor.
House Bill (HB) 1069:
- Protects students from having to declare their pronouns in school. Additionally, this bill expands parental rights in education by prohibiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Pre-K through 8th grade.
HB 1521:
- Protects children from sexually explicit performances in all venues. This bill prohibits a person from knowingly admitting a minor to an adult performance. Additionally, this legislation authorizes the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to fine, suspend, or revoke the operating or alcohol licenses of hotels or restaurants if they admit a child into an adult performance.
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DeSantis also signed legislation that effectively forces all public institutions to have separate bathrooms for men and women based on biological sex.
The last piece of legislation that DeSantis signed expands youth access to sports; protects First Amendment rights at high school sporting events, like praying during a game; and gives the state power over the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) to protect women’s sports.
Florida students and teachers will no longer have to “declare” their pronouns in school or be forced to use pronouns not based on biological sex.
Our teachers will focus on what matters — reading, writing, and arithmetic. pic.twitter.com/XviQB23lLF
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 17, 2023
One moment from the press conference that went viral online was when DeSantis slammed “the pronoun olympics.”
“We never did this through all of human history until like, what, two weeks ago?” DeSantis said. “Now this is something they’re having third-graders declare pronouns? We’re not doing the pronoun olympics in Florida. It’s not happening here.”
Governor DeSantis on ending the pronoun insanity in schools:
“We never did this through all of human history until like two weeks ago. They're having third graders declare pronouns? We're not doing the pronoun olympics in Florida." pic.twitter.com/M9KUXahI3F
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) May 17, 2023
Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. praised the new laws, saying that they will “keep our students safe and our schools focused on education, not indoctrination.”
“Today’s actions make it clear — educators in Florida are expected to teach our standards, and not interject their own opinions or worldview into the classroom,” he added. “The Department will remain focused on teaching students core subjects, rather than woke gender ideology or inappropriate topics.”