Governor DeSantis signs Gulf of America bills into law

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a pair of bills officially recognizing the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in the state of Florida.

Why Gulf of America?

The backstory:

After taking office for his second term in January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Since then, the governor and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature have gotten behind the idea at the state level, passing a pair of measures:

HB 575 changes the state's official designation of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America.
HB 549 requires state agencies to update geographic, instructional and library materials to reflect the Gulf of America in place of the Gulf of Mexico.

PREVIOUS: Gulf of America name change approved by Florida Legislature

Those bills officially became law on Monday.

Photo courtesy: Republican Party of Florida.

Dig deeper:

Trump, along with other supporters of the movement, argue the name change reflects the Gulf's importance to the U.S. economy, and is also a show of patriotism.

The other side:

Critics of the change say the Gulf of Mexico has had its name for more than 400 years, dating back well before the formation of the United States.

Democrats in Tallahassee also argue that the renaming is a distraction from more pressing issues in Florida, including property insurance and education.

Outside the U.S., the Gulf continues to largely be recognized as the Gulf of Mexico.

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The Source: This story was written with information from the Florida Legislature and the Governor's Office, along with previous FOX 13 News reports.

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