Florida’s DeSantis Praises Bill Banning Trans “Mutilation” of Children

"When we're standing up against that, we're protecting these kids.”

The Florida state House passed a bill last week that would ban so-called “gender affirming” surgery for minors in the state.

Such legislation had been requested by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who has championed efforts to restrict radical transgender and sexuality ideology in the state.

DeSantis, who is likely to announce a primary challenge against former President Donald Trump in the next few weeks as The Blaze noted, praised the move in a press conference Friday.

"If you have a minor child, you should not be doing sex-change operations. You should not be doing puberty blockers. That is wrong, and we’re glad that we put a stop to that in the state of Florida," he told reporters.

"It's wrong to be sexualizing these kids. It's wrong to have gender ideology and telling kids that they may have been born in the wrong body. So we're on the right side of that," he also said.

DeSantis also mobilized and signed a bill last year restricting sexuality education for younger grades in the state that the media and Democrats framed as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

He took direct aim at the press as he defended this latest bill, which would restrict the use of hormone drugs, puberty blockers, and surgery for minors.

"People in your industry will dress it up with a euphemism and say that it's health care to cut off the private parts of a 14- or 15-year-old," he told a reporter.

"That is not health care. That is mutilation," he declared.

"When we're standing up against that, we're protecting these kids," he added, to applause.