Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to announce his run for president this week. He is considered former President Donald Trump's strongest opponent in the Republican Party and the hope of Trump's opponents within the party.
To bolster his standing with the Republican electorate, DeSantis passed several bills this year that surely appealed to the far right, such as restrictions on abortion, gender-matching treatments for minors and sexual orientation education in schools. In addition, he expanded the death penalty and authorized the possession of concealed weapons in public — and the climax: DeSantis is waging a personal war against America's favorite company: Disney.
The slew of anti-individual rights legislation is part of a culture war DeSantis believes will help cement him as a replacement for Trump, his former ally. He is not trying to appeal to the moderate and rational part of the Republican Party, but to the same foundation that brought the former president his victory in 2024 and to continue the division within the party and in the United States.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Photo: Reuters)
Prohibition of abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy
In April, DeSantis signed legislation banning abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy, making Florida one of the nation's most restrictive restrictive reproductive rights states. The result: Many women from the more conservative and religious Deep South can no longer travel to Florida to get an abortion.
DeSantis replaced a previous abortion ban after the governor's 15th week signed in April 2022 — even before the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 legislation that gave women across the country the right to a safe abortion.
However, while DeSantis signed the older bill in church for all to see, he passed the new, more restrictive bill in the dead of night in his office without public notice. The new law makes exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and saving the mother's life. It won't go into effect until the Florida Supreme Court decides whether to challenge the old law banning abortions from 15 weeks.
Jenna Barbie, an elementary school teacher who is being investigated in Florida after showing students a cartoon with a gay character (Screenshot, TikTok)
Prohibition of gender reconciliation treatments for minors
In mid-May, DeSantis signed a law banning sexual matching treatments for minors and limiting it to adults. The law includes a prison sentence of up to five years for doctors who violate it and requires adults who want to skin such treatments to sign a consent form.
One of the most extreme sections of the law allows the court to temporarily take the children from their homes if they receive sexual adjustment treatment.
Florida's governor also signed other laws penalizing businesses that admit minors to "live shows," such as drag shows. It also made the use of toilets in public buildings that do not match the gender of the user an offense.
A principal at an elementary school in Florida has been fired after showing her students Michelangelo's statue David (Photo: GettyImages)
The Education System
DeSantis approved a law in May that prohibits public school employees from calling students by pronouns that don't match the gender they were born with. The law expanded on an older one-year-old law dubbed "Don't Say Gay" by opponents. The original law prohibited classes on sexual orientation and identity from kindergarten to third grade only. In April, the Florida State Board of Education expanded it to twelfth grade. The governor signed a law requiring public universities in the state to invest money in initiatives to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
Studies in "identity politics" were also banned under the law, which also weakens protections for lecturers' seniority.
capital punishment
In April, DeSantis passed a law that significantly lowers the bar for the death penalty. Now, the jury won't need to reach a unanimous consensus to sentence a person to death — and a majority of eight to four will suffice.
Memorial rally commemorating the Parkland massacre, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)
Weapons concealed in public
The governor passed a law in April allowing Floridians to carry concealed firearms without a permit. Starting July 1, gun owners will not have to go through safety courses and background checks, despite the deadly mass shootings in Florida, 2018 in Parkland and 2016 in Orlando.
The film Strange World that sparked the wrath of parents in Florida (Photo: Disney)
Disney
The confrontation between Disney and DeSantis escalated when the governor signed a series of laws against the company and its special independent status in the state where Disney World is located, after Disney criticized banning gender studies and sexual orientation.
In February, DeSantis signed legislation ending Disney's independent status and authorizing him to appoint five members to a board to control it within the state. In May, the governor signed a bill giving the board of directors the authority to block development deals Disney had previously signed.
Disney sued and later announced it was pulling a billion-dollar investment in the park, which would have created 2,000 new jobs in the state.
Disney World in Florida (Photo: Reuters)
emigration
DeSantis said employers with 25 or more employees would have to use a federal database, E-Verify, which contains Department of Homeland Security and Social Security documents.
It also prohibited local authorities from issuing ID cards to illegal immigrants. Further, DeSantis requires hospitals to now collect data on migrants' health care costs.
transparency
DeSantis signed a bill in May that would protect him from public documents about his travel, including trips for political reasons outside Florida. The bill would create a veil of secrecy about who funders DeSantis' trips and how much time he spends between his job as governor and his presidential candidacy.
Another unprecedented law awaiting signature by Florida's governor would immediately eliminate the requirement that he resign as governor to run for president. The law will automatically go into effect, even if DeSantis doesn't sign it.
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