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Ron DeSantis seeks to "turn America into Florida." These controversial bills offer clues about their intentions

2023-03-08T00:06:50.550Z


In a recently published biographical-tinged book, Florida's Republican governor asserted that the state's "blueprint" should serve as the basis for "reviving America." A series of controversial bills in the state Legislature offer clues about his possible presidential campaign.


By Adam Edelman -

NBC News

Florida's 2023 legislative session, which begins Tuesday, will kick off with a series of bills likely to inflame most of the Republican base.

Among its main legislations are the expansion of the right to bear arms, greater restriction of diversity in public universities and the expansion of the ways to sue the media for defamation.

All of these bills reveal the direction a potential presidential run by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would take.

With a GOP supermajority in both chambers in Tallahassee, the state capital, DeSantis will face little resistance in pushing through state laws as he prepares his long-awaited run for the White House.

"Anything the governor wants to accomplish, he's going to accomplish during this (legislative) session

," said Susan MacManus, professor emeritus of political science at the University of South Florida.

"It's going to offer some clues — some very big ones — as to the type of campaign he's going to undertake."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hopes to push his political agenda forward during the legislative session that begins Tuesday. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A spokesman for DeSantis declined to answer questions about the upcoming session.

A recently released memoir of the governor highlights his accomplishments in Florida, holding them up as a model for national policy.

One of the chapters is even titled

"Let's turn America into Florida"

.

According to DeSantis, "the Florida model" is the "blueprint for resuscitating America."

Below, we detail some of the points on which the Republican legislative agenda will focus in the session that runs from March 7 to May 5.

More rights to bear arms

Republican leaders have introduced a bill that would allow guns to be carried anywhere, without the need for a permit.

DeSantis has expressed that this proposal is one of his priorities for the current legislative session.

"This is something that I have always supported in a way," the governor commented in December.

"It's something that will be accomplished during the regular session (of the Legislature)."

Under current Florida law, people who want to carry weapons in public are required to get a permit from the state.

The "constitutional carry (of guns)" measure, as it is called by pro-gun activists—also known as "carry without a permit"—would eliminate that requirement.

One of the legislative proposals supported by Florida Republicans would allow the public carrying of guns without the need for a permit.Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg / Getty Images

In recent weeks, however, Republican senators have combined that legislation with measures they say would increase school security, the expansion of a program that allows school district employees to bring weapons on campus.

Democrats have strongly criticized the combination as a

ploy to make carrying illegal weapons a more attractive proposition to voters.

"They should separate the two bills," Sen. Jason Pizzo, a well-known critic of DeSantis, said in an interview.

"(The measures) are not related (...) They should not be together."

Culture war against the 'woke'

DeSantis' penchant for waging a culture war on education has helped him raise his national profile.

Conservatives have celebrated their "Stop the WOKE Act," which censored discussions of race in schools.

Woke

is a word in English that is used derogatorily to describe those who advocate for the discussion of issues related to racial prejudice and discrimination.

Conservatives have also welcomed the pressure DeSantis has exerted on the College Board, which appears to have led the college to transform courses on African-American issues.

And they have also praised their reprisals against the Disney company, which opposed the legislation called

Don't Say Gay (

"No Say Gay", in Spanish), which restricts the teaching of topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity. .

[Florida introduces bill to force bloggers who write about Ron DeSantis to register with the state]

A Republican proposal in the Legislature

seeks to further restrict what is taught in schools

, railing against diversity programs at state universities.

HB 999 would consolidate state control over those study centers.

It would also allow the Florida Board of Governors to force universities to remove courses on racial theory and gender issues, and prohibit money from being spent on related programs or activities.

Concern in Florida over DeSantis's actions against what he calls "indoctrination" in higher education

Feb 2, 202301:46

Other bills in the state House and Senate would prohibit students, educators and school officials from using pronouns that "do not correspond to a person's sex."

In addition, it would prevent school employees from using pronouns that do not "correspond" to their gender.

against the media

One of the proposals that could receive serious consideration, at DeSantis's request, would make it easier to sue news outlets for defamation.

In fact, legislation called HB 991 would classify as defamation allegations of discrimination against other people based on their race, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Experts have questioned the constitutional legality of that proposal, because it includes several sections that seem to contradict a Supreme Court ruling on the First Amendment, which protects the rights to freedom of religion and expression.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2023-03-08

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