TAMPA, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a series of laws aimed at changing education’s approach to transgender children, bathroom use and pronouns on Wednesday.

The governor chose to sign the five bills at Cambridge Christian School in Tampa, where he sat in front of a cheering crowd.

The first law, SB 254, will outlaw transgender assignment surgery and other gender treatments to minors, as well as require adults seeking such care to first be informed about the permanent nature of the treatments.

Additionally, the law seeks to grant Florida the right to intervene and halt procedures for out-of-state children. If such care is given, the law will also allow for damages to be sought in court as a result.

Another new law, HB 1069, bans students or staff from declaring their pronouns, or to use pronouns that don’t go along with someone’s sex assigned at birth. Further, the bill will prohibit classroom discussion or education on sexual orientation or gender identify in Pre-K through eighth grade, an expansion of another similar bill from last year.

HB 1521 requires any public building with a restroom, locker room or changing facility to have separate facilities for men and women, based on their sex assigned at birth.

Expanding on the controversy surrounding drag shows and minors, HB 1438 prohibits children at “sexually explicit” adult performances like strip clubs or drag shows, according to a release from the governor’s office.

The last law signed by DeSantis is aimed at expanding access to school sports. The new law allows private schools, virtual schools and homeschooled students to participate in sports or other activities at a public or private school, regardless of location, and will allow “public prayer” at the beginning of high school sporting events. The bill also allows for the state to control the Florida High School Athletic Association to “ensure that women’s sports are protected.”

“Florida is proud to lead the way in standing up for our children,” said DeSantis. “As the world goes mad, Florida represents a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy.”

Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida also voiced his approval of the new laws.

“Thank you Governor DeSantis for signing legislation that protects our children,” Weida said. “Florida is following the science to elevate our standards of care to protect kids from harmful drugs and surgeries.” 

Critics of the new laws, namely SB 254, assert that the new measure restricts access to care that they consider to be life-saving.

“Our service has been interrupted and we’ve been limited on what we can do upon the bill becoming signed,” said Joey Knoll, a nurse practictioner at Spektrum Health in Orlando. “We’re still working with our patients, we’re still answering their questions, we’re working with our business partners to figure what is going to be the best path forward for our patients.”

Chris Stoll, an attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which also supports other groups within the LGBTQ community, says the new law is largely unconstitutional. He says the group plans on filing lawsuits challenging it.

But in the interim, Knoll says he’s left compromised when it comes to treating his patients.

“Unfortunately it’s not good,” said Knoll. “We’re going to have hundreds and hundreds and thousands of patients who are not going to be able to get an appointment and who are going to struggle to get access to their medication, which is going to lead to a lot of them leaving the state.”

“Graduate Assistants United at the University of Florida condemns the passage of SB-254 by the Florida legislature, an extremist bill restricting access to life-saving, gender-affirming health care, and the passage of HB 1521, a bill that criminalizes transgender people for using public bathrooms or changing facilities that align with their gender identity,” a statement from Graduate Assistants United said.

June 1  is the beginning of pride month, which consists of a series of events kicking off in the area, but there is concern that some of the entertainment might be seen as going against the new law.

For the past three years, John Gascot has organized an event called “Pride @ the Village” which kicks off on May 20 in Pinellas Park. It’s a pride event that includes a Drag Queen contest.

“There’s no sexual content planned for this show. There never was and never has been,” Gascot said.

He is an artist and former Drag Queen and says the event is all about showing pride for the LGBTQ community, and says he plans to make any adjustments to the event to prevent the the possibility that the event might go against the law.

“We’re not trying to make a protest here. We’re just trying to live our lives and be who we are and express our culture,” he said.