Republicans in Texas have introduced legislation that would prevent Texas schools from enabling students to act in ways that mimic “furry” subcultures in classrooms and campuses.
Furries is a small subculture of adults who normally dress in costumes and role-playing behaviors characteristic of anthropomorphic animals. Some furs may be identified as LGBTQ, but not all.
Rep. Stan Gerdes (R-Smithville), sponsor of the bill, says he introduced the fur. [Forbidden Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education] Act on March 13th to discourage the school from allowing students to mimic animal behavior. He says such behavior disrupts learning.
Among the forbidden acts listed in the law include defecation in a trash can, licking or grooming yourself, wearing collars, chains or animal accessories, “surgical or superficial means” that demonstrate the tail, fur, ears, or animal features.
“We don’t believe we have to do this, but we cannot allow distractions of these types of role-playing to affect students trying to learn, teachers and administrators trying to teach,” Geldes said in a statement. “We must protect this nonsense from schools.
“While school mascots, theatrical performances and dress-up days will remain part of the school’s spirit, the bill ensures that students and teachers can focus on academics rather than strange and unhealthy confusion,” he added. “Texas schools are meant to educate children rather than indulge in radical trends.”
The bill amends the Texas education code to “prohibit non-human behavior by students, including introducing themselves as non-human on days other than exemption dates.”
On exemption dates, news websites report when students are dressed like a holiday like Halloween, special events such as school dressing up or costume days, or when students are dressed like mascots for school sports events Central square.
The bill directs the Board of Education to enact penalties for students who behave in such a way, such as suspension or expulsion.
Additionally, the action will allow the Texas Attorney General to impose a $10,000 fine for the initial offense and $25,000 for subsequent offenses if teachers or administrators cannot stop students from acting like animals.
Geldes’s measures also amend the Texas Family Law to redefine mental or emotional injuries to children, including “including allowing or encouraging children to raise their children with a dependency or belief that they are socially acceptable.”
Under the Code, allowing such behavior, including sexual abuse, human trafficking, prostitution, child pornography, child marriage, or the use of controlled substances, is considered to be equivalent to causing harm to a child.
Gerdes has introduced bills in response to feedback from constituents and related furry incidents allegedly occurring in the Smithville Independent School District.
He did not elaborate on what the incident entails when it happened – he claimed he confirmed that the incident had happened, but in recent years there have been no known news reports that have not covered such alleged incidents.
Gerdes’s fur obsession relies on the common right-wing looting repeated by Republicans who sought political office. The trope relies on the idea that transgender identity is inherently invalid, and the idea of identifying people who feel that the gender assigned at the time of their birth do not match those who role-play the cosplay as animals.
This comparison has been used to stir up opposition to transgender identity and comprehensive school policy, claiming that public schools are highly tolerant of non-traditional gender identities that allow students to act like animals.
Most of the incidents involving “fur” at schools appear to be hoaxes and are contested as untrue by school administrators in various states. Most of the claims about “fur” are largely exposed.
As NBC points out, the “trash bin” myth could be linked to school shootings. School teachers in Jefferson County, Colorado (where Columbine High School is the infamous mass school shooting location) recommend keeping a small amount of cat trash on hand as part of a “go bucket” containing emergency supplies if students are trapped in classrooms while filming schools.
In addition to cat trash, the bucket also included candies for diabetic students, school maps, flashlights, wet wipes and first aid kits. However, cat trash was not intended to address the student’s “fur” identity suspicions. Rather, it was intended to ensure that students did not have to leave the classroom to use the toilet if they were targeted for school shootings.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
