Gulf of America Trail: Senator wants to rename this Florida highway

The GOP in Florida is all over President Donald Trump's "Gulf of America" name change.

Gov Ron DeSantis was the first to use it in an official document, bills have been filed to change references in state laws from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has been directed to make the change in all its rules, documents and maps, and now a Sarasota senator has filed a bill to rename a major roadway.

State Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, filed a bill (SB 1058) for consideration during the legislative session beginning next week that would rename a stretch of U.S. 41 commonly known as Tamiami Trail to "Gulf of America Trail."

The bill also requires state agencies, county school districts and charter school boards to use teaching materials that reflect the name "Gulf of America." State Rep. Juan Carlos Porras, R-Miami, filed a similar bill last week in the Florida House.

Trump issued an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on day one of his second term as president.

Tamiami Trail, which opened in 1928, runs from Tampa to Miami and was named for both cities. It served as the main thoroughfare between the two major metros until the construction of Interstate 75 decades later.

"There is a lot of love for the president in Southwest Florida specifically, and that stretch of Tamiami Trail from Tampa all the way through Collier is Trump country," Gruters told the Herald-Tribune. "There is no better way to show him our appreciation and love for our home-state president than naming one of the larger roadways after the Gulf of America."

After the international press agency refused to adopt the name "Gulf of America," the Trump administration banned Associated Press journalists from White House events until the AP changed its style guide. White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said on Feb. 14 that AP journalists were indefinitely barred from limited spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One because of the name-change refusal.

The AP has sued Budowich, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, saying, "The law does not allow the government to control speech based on its likes and dislikes."

On Tuesday, the Trump administration went a step further and announced from now on it would decide which news outlets have access to the president, something that had previously been decided by an independent association of journalists.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has threatened to sue Google if it does not reconsider its decision to rename the Gulf for its U.S. users of Google Maps.

“If a country wants to change the designation of something in the sea, it would only apply up to 12 nautical miles. It cannot apply to the rest, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico. This is what we explained in detail to Google,” Sheinbaum Pardo told reporters in Mexico City.

The U.S., Mexico and Cuba share the body of water and each one controls a certain amount of the coastal waters of the Gulf.

For many years, nations had rights to and control over the water extending an average of three nautical miles from their shores and everything beyond that was considered international waters. In the 20th century, some nations asked to extend that limit to add access to mineral resources, protect fish stocks and other uses.After several countries, including the U.S., claimed hundreds of miles of sea for themselves, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea established a consensus: territorial waters would extend to 12 nautical miles from a nation's shores, with provisions for navigation, deep sea mining, protection of the environment, scientific research and more.

Currently, the U.S. federal government manages the seas and the submerged parts of the Outer Continental Shelf and has jurisdiction over economic and resource management up to 200 miles from the coast in the exclusive economic zone, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Within the EEZ, the U.S. has sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve and manage natural resources, and jurisdiction as provided for in international law. Mexico also has jurisdiction up to 200 miles from its coast. In 1978, the U.S. and Mexico signed a treaty defining the continental shelf boundaries, and another in 2000 allowing for agreements beyond the 200-mile limit for development of any possible oil, or natural gas reservoirs.

In 2007, Mexico asked to extend its continental shelf up to 350 nautical miles in certain areas, which would overlap some of the U.S.'s jurisdiction. The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf accepted Mexico's arguments in 2009 but Mexico and the U.S. would need another agreement to formalize each country's claims.