Hold on, why is the US trying to ban Furries because of a debunked conspiracy theory?

The great state of Texas is currently debating a bill to ban non-human behaviours in schools after government officials gave new life to a debunked conspiracy theory about Furries.

Furries, a community interested in anthropomorphic animal characters, have long been a somewhat strange but practically harmless subculture. There are entire subreddits dedicated to the practice, conventions that see thousands attend, and million-dollar businesses where the average Furry costume can exceed $5,000.

I’m not going to pretend like I fully understand the allure of Furry culture, but for some reason, elected officials have decided they are the biggest threat to the American education system amid 44 school shootings this year, 755 school closures, and the erasure of identity politics in education.

Credit: Vice

What is the Furries Act in Texas?

On March 13, Texas State Representative Stan Gerdes filed the Forbidden Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education Act, aptly named the Furries Act.

“I can’t believe we have to do this, but we cannot allow these types of roleplaying distractions to affect our students who are trying to learn or our teachers and administrators who are trying to teach,” he said in a press release. “We just have to keep this nonsense out of our schools, period.”

Our Texas classrooms should be places of learning, not distractions. That’s why I’ve filed HB 4814, the FURRIES Act (Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Educational Spaces) to ensure that public schools are not accommodating or allowing disruptive "furry"… pic.twitter.com/SMOSDKePJg

— Stan Gerdes (@StanGerdesforTX) March 13, 2025

Under the bill, prohibited behaviours include: Using a litter box to relieve oneself – something Representative Stan Gerdes has claimed is prolific in Texas schools – wearing tails, leashes, collars, accessories designed for pets, fur, animal-like ears, items not historically designed for humans, and licking oneself for grooming. It would even ban kids from making animal noises such as barking, meowing, or hissing.

The conspiracy theory has been debunked over and over

@jamestalarico

Greg Abbott is pushing the “FURRIES Act” claiming schools are giving litter boxes to students who act like cats. But when I asked the bill author, he couldn’t name one school providing litter boxes to kids. This is all part of Abbott’s smear campaign against our public schools.

♬ original sound – James Talarico

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In a recent hearing, the Texas State Representative cited numerous Texas public schools putting out litterboxes for students to use if they identify as Furries. This claim has been supported by Texas Governor Greg Abbott despite it being debunked over and over again.

When asked directly (several times) about which schools were putting out litterboxes in their classrooms, Stan Gerdes could not cite a single instance. The chair of the meeting, Representative James Talarico, then accused his peer of wasting the time of officials who could be focusing on the very real issues schools are facing.

“Texas librarians are not grooming kids, Texas teachers are not indoctrinating kids, and Texas schools are not providing litter boxes,” he said. “I think the most disappointing part about all this is, I think you know that.”

The school district even denied the claims, stating once and for all: “At this time, the District has no concerns related to students behaving as anything but typical children.

“Rep. Gerdes contacted Superintendent Cheryl Burns to ask if there were any litter boxes for students on District campuses. Burns informed Rep. Gerdes that there were not, but as a courtesy to Rep. Gerdes, Mrs. Burns made the extra effort to walk the campus to confirm that there were no litter boxes.”

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