The legislation were signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and prohibit children from attending drag shows or receiving transgender medical treatment. They also limit the usage of pronouns in the classroom.

According to the law, public restrooms and locker rooms must be divided “based on biological sex.”

He claimed that the legislation will turn the state into a “refuge of sanity”. The measure was criticized as being “mean spirited”.

It is anticipated that the Republican governor will soon enter the 2024 presidential election.

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Across the US, conservative-run states have proposed hundreds of similar laws regarding LGBT problems.

But Mr. DeSantis’ chances of running for president have focused attention on Florida.

It’s commonly believed that he will announce his candidacy as early as next week.

A governor’s plan that could oppose Trump
The five legislation were signed by Mr. DeSantis on Wednesday at the conservative Cambridge Christian School in Tampa. “We need to let our kids just be kids,” he added.

“What we’ve said in Florida is that we’re going to stay a bastion of normalcy and sanity,”

Children who identify as transgender are prohibited from receiving hormone therapy or puberty blockers under the law.

Despite being known as the “Let Kids Be Kids” bundle of regulations, one of them also imposes additional limitations on adults seeking transgender medical care.

These patients are now required to get written agreement on a form that has been approved by two oversight bodies, the members of which are chosen by the governor.

Another regulation prohibits teachers from disclosing to pupils their preferred pronouns or questioning them about their pronoun preferences.

We had never done this before, according to Mr. DeSantis, until only a couple of weeks ago. Third graders are being asked to state their pronouns? The Pronoun Olympics won’t be held in Florida.

A statute mandating that men and women use bathrooms and locker rooms exclusively “based on their biological sex” was also signed into law by the governor. This requirement applies to all public institutions, including schools and jails.

Another law, Protecting Children’s Innocence, gives the state the authority to revoke a business’s license if it admits kids to “adult live performances,” such drag shows.

Major medical associations support transgender medical care as appropriate and sometimes life-saving care for those with gender dysphoria.

The Florida legislation, according to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), will “have a chilling effect on the medical community by introducing politics into healthcare.”

A Florida restaurant hosts a drag show. Image source: Getty Images
picture caption
Children are prohibited from attending drag events and receiving transgender medical treatment under laws that the governor has signed.
However, a lot of conservatives and some detransitioners, or people who try to stop or reverse a gender transition, have spoken out against the accepted medical wisdom, calling such treatments child abuse or chemical castration.

Democrats criticized Florida’s legislation harshly.

Democratic state senator Shevrin Jones, who is lesbian, said: “Every other parent has the right to raise their child the way that they want to as long as your child is not gay, trans, or bisexual.”

“That’s freedom for some parents, but not for all parents.”

Victor Torres, a different Democratic state senator, called the bills “mean-spirited and unnecessary.”

As governor, Mr. DeSantis has entered the culture wars in America by signing legislation that forbids the teaching of gender identity in public schools, restricts access to abortion, upholds the right to bear arms, and denounces “woke indoctrination” in the classroom.

According to the Real Clear Politics opinion polling average, former President Donald Trump is now in the lead in the fight for the Republican presidential nomination for the next year, with Mr. DeSantis in second place trailing by more than 36 points.

The victor will run against Democratic President Joe Biden in the election of November 2024.