I'm Samantha Sharis, and I'm Mary Margaret Olahan, and this is the daily signal top news

for Wednesday, May 17th.

Here are today's headlines.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed numerous bills today to protect Florida's

children from permanent mutilating surgical procedures, gender identity politics and schools,

and attending sexually explicit adult performances, according to the governor's office.

One of those bills is SB-254, which relates to treatments for sex reassignment.

The bill is part of the Let Kids Be Kids bill package, according to the governor's office.

In a statement DeSantis said Florida is proud to lead the way in standing up for our children.

As the world goes mad, Florida represents a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy.

Other bills in the package include HB-1069, which protects students from having to declare

their pronouns in school, HB-1438, which protects children from sexually explicit performances

in all venues, HB-1521, which ensures that Florida's bathrooms, changing rooms, and locker

rooms are safe places for women and HB-225, which also reorganizes the Florida High School

School Athletic Association Board of Directors to 13 members instead of the current 16 members,

according to the governor's office.

Commissioner of Education, Mani Diaz Jr. said in a statement,

Thank you, Governor Ron DeSantis, for continuing to implement legislation to keep our students

safe and our schools focused on education, not indoctrination.

The Supreme Court has allowed an assault weapons ban to temporarily take effect in Illinois.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act was passed on January 10th.

It prohibits the manufacturer, delivery, sale, purchase, or possession of large capacity

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