Texas governor wants to ban furries from using litter boxes in classrooms because that’s something that definitely happens

A new bill put forward by a Republican representative from Texas, is currently being discussed in the House of Representatives. The bill would target the furry fandom, banning “non-human behavior,” but is this really an issue that needs this much attention?

Texas governor, Greg Abbott, recently voiced his support for the bill and added some rather obscene claims about what apparently goes on in schools across the U.S. In a speech back in March, Abbott made the wild claim that some schools were actually providing litter boxes in classrooms for students to urinate and defecate in. According to the Chronicle, he stated that “Kids go to school dressed up as cats with litter boxes in their classrooms.”

Abbott also referenced the FURRIES act which stands for Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Educational Spaces. The act would see such behavior banned in schools. For those unaware, furries are a subculture of people who enjoy roleplaying as anthropomorphic animals. Of course, the problem with Abbott’s claims about furries is that things like this simply don’t happen in schools.

Greg Abbott’s claims are called out

Abbott has been accused of engaging in a smear campaign against schools. State representative, James Talarico, called out the Texan governor at a committee on public education. He addressed the litter box rumor directly, asking the bill author, Stan Gerde, if he could “name a school where it has been confirmed that students are using litter boxes.”

Despite the very simple question, Gerde was unable to provide an adequate answer; instead he simply tried, unsuccessfully, to dance around Talarico’s questions before finally admitting that he could not name a school where litter boxes had been provided for students. He also pointed out that these claims were old and had “repeatedly been debunked as hoaxes,” something which Gerde admits he was aware of.

Bills based on debunked hoaxes are a waste of time

Talarico went on to state that the spreading of such rumors by people like Abbott was “concerning” and that debunked conspiracies are being “used by politicians at the highest levels of our government,” despite knowing that what they’re sharing is incorrect. Of course, spreading misinformation is nothing new for Abbott. The Texan rep. Goes on to say that it’s not a good use of time to focus on all this attention on a bill based around a debunked conspiracy theory.

Of course, facts don’t really mean a thing under the current administration. People believe what they want to believe even when the facts are right in front of them. This is a non-issue. Talarico is right in calling this bill a waste of time because there isn’t a single classroom in the U.S. where furries are being given litter trays to use while at school.