GOP Bill Would Stop ‘Furries’ From Invading Texas Schools
A Texas Republican bill would prohibit students from cosplaying as "furries" and using litter boxes in classrooms.
A Republican lawmaker in Texas introduced a bill to prevent Texas schools from allowing students to behave in ways that mimic the “furry” subculture in classrooms and on campuses.
Furries are a minority sub-culture of adults who typically dress in costumes and roleplay behaviors characteristic of anthropomorphic animal personalities. Some furries — though not all — may identify as LGBTQ.
State Rep. Stan Gerdes (R-Smithville), the bill’s sponsor, says that he introduced the FURRIES [Forbidden Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education] Act on March 13 to discourage schools from allowing students to mimic animal behavior. He says such behaviors are disruptive to learning.
Among the forbidden acts enumerated in the legislation include defecating in a litter box, licking or grooming one’s self, wearing collars, leashes, or animal accessories, and any “surgical or superficial means” of displaying tails, fur, ears, or animal features.
“I can’t believe we have to do this, but we cannot allow these types of role-playing distractions to affect our students who are trying to learn, or our teachers and administrators who are trying to teach,” Gerdes said in a statement. “We just have to keep this nonsense out of our schools. No distractions. No theatrics. Just education.
“While school mascots, theater performances, and dress-up days remain part of school spirit, this bill ensures that students and teachers can focus on academics — not on bizarre and unhealthy disruptions,” he added. “Texas schools are for educating kids, not indulging in radical trends.”
The bill would amend the Texas Education Code to “prohibit any non-human behavior by a student, including presenting himself or herself, on days other than exempt days, as anything other than a human being.”
Exempt days include holidays like Halloween and special events like school dress-up or costume days, or when a student is dressed up like a mascot for school sporting events, reports the news website The Center Square.
The bill directs school boards to enact penalties for students who act in such a manner, including suspension or expulsion.
Additionally, the measure allows the Texas Attorney General to impose a fine of $10,000 for a first offense — and $25,000 for subsequent offenses — if teachers and administrators fail to stop students from behaving like animals.
Gerdes’ measure would also amend the Texas Family Code to redefine mental or emotional injury to a child as including “allowing or encouraging the child to develop a dependence on or belief that non-human behaviors are societally acceptable.”
Under the code, allowing such behavior would be considered tantamount to subjecting a child to harm, including sexual abuse, human trafficking, prostitution, child pornography, child marriage, and use of controlled substances.
Gerdes filed the bill in response to feedback from constituents, and a furry-related incident that allegedly occurred at the Smithville Independent School District.
He did not elaborate on what the incident entailed or when it occurred — although he claimed that the superintendent confirmed the incident had taken place — and no known news reports in recent years have covered any such alleged incident.
Gerdes’ obsession with furries relies on a common right-wing trope that has been repeated by Republicans who have sought political office. That trope relies on the idea that transgender identity is inherently invalid, equating a person who feels their gender identity does not match their assigned sex at birth to people who cosplay and roleplay as animals.
The comparison is used to stir up opposition to transgender identity and trans-inclusive school policies, asserting that public schools have become so permissive of non-traditional gender identities that they are allowing students to behave like animals.
Most of the incidents allegedly involving “furries” in school appear to be hoaxes and have been contested as untrue by school administrators in various states. The majority of claims about “furries” have largely been debunked.
As NBC notes, the “litter box” myth is likely tied to school shootings. Teachers at schools in Jefferson County, Colorado — where Columbine High School, the site of a notorious mass school shooting, is located — were advised to keep small amounts of cat litter on hand as part of “go buckets” containing emergency supplies in case students were locked in a classroom during a school shooting.
In addition to cat litter, the buckets also contained candy for diabetic students, maps of the school, flashlights, wet wipes, and first aid kits. However, the cat litter was not meant to cater to any student’s alleged “furry” identity. Rather, it was meant to ensure that students did not have to leave a classroom to use the restroom should they be targeted by school shootings.
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