this post was submitted on 03 May 2025
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A Texas bill, known as the FURRIES Act, would ban non-human behaviors in public schools, including the use of litter boxes and wearing animal accessories.

Rep. Stan Gerdes, the bill's author, claimed schools were providing litter boxes for students acting as "furries."

When pressed, Gerdes could not find an example. The bill was left pending in committee.

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[–] Juliee@lemm.ee 4 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

He is probably a furry in secret, very effective way to make these things happen.

It takes real dedication to make a career in politics as republican with a single plan to turn kids into furries by goading them into protesting anti furry bill

[–] KiwiFlavor@lemmy.blahaj.zone 34 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Beyond the blatant stupidity of the bill, the most concerning part is the definition of "non-human behavior." I would not be surprised if some schools interpreted queer people, those with disabilites, and those from minority ethnic, religious, or racial groups to be exhibitong "non-human behaviors." These groups have already been dehumanized historically.

[–] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 7 points 6 hours ago

That child is dressed like a plant! Arrest him!

[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 9 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Absolutely. Any vague language has a way of being misinterpreted by the most fanatical and used for evil.

[–] EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone 31 points 12 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 10 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Unless animal control can run up to 60mph, that cheetah kid is getting away.

[–] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 10 points 6 hours ago

Cheetah kids can only maintain 60mph over a short distance. If animal control can follow at a steady pace, they'll catch up eventually.

[–] pleasegoaway@lemm.ee 48 points 14 hours ago (2 children)
[–] Eddy@lemm.ee 14 points 11 hours ago

You can't even meow, so no learning about the noises animals make

[–] sowitzer@lemm.ee 4 points 9 hours ago

Almost every school mascot today is some sort of non offensive animal. Puma, panther, golden eagles, a few others. Probably setting up the magas who want to go back to some real non woke “American hero” names. Gen Lee Slavemasters, red injun killers, white supremists, things like that. lol.

[–] match@pawb.social 8 points 11 hours ago

what, have they have been finding examples of trans kids in school sports?

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 46 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

We truly live in the dumbest timeline. Seems like ~50% of the population has no "bullshit filter".

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 21 points 13 hours ago

They have an “actively seek out bullshit that props up my radical beliefs and hatreds” filter.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 46 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

The litter box in schools thing happened in all of my dad's WhatsApp friends schools, but there's no pictures of it 🤔

[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 35 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (3 children)

It started because of school shootings, ironically enough. If you’re in a lockdown for hours while the cops take their sweet time, (coughUvaldecough), there’s a near 100% chance that at least one of the children in your class is going to need to use the restroom during that time.

Luckily, camp toilets are a thing:

They’re basically a 5 gallon bucket with a snap-on toilet seat lid. You use a trash bag to line it, then sprinkle an alginate powder in, (the same powder used in diapers) and it turns into a gel when it gets wet. This helps avoid the smell and splashing, and a single small sachet of alginate powder is enough for the entire bucket.

As an added bonus, you can use the bucket to store other things that might be needed in a shooting or extended lockdown. Tourniquets, gauze, protein bars, etc… It’s all there in a single grab-and-go location. Lockdown starts, you pull the bucket out of the closet, dump all the supplies out, and set it in the corner for kids to use if they need to pee.

But this very quickly got flipped around, because conservatives didn’t want the left to start using “schools need toilets in the classrooms because school shootings are so frequent” campaigns. So they flipped it around, and said schools were providing litter boxes to furries. There’s also a heavy anti-trans lean on the litter boxes messaging, which just plays into the conservative fear mongering even more.

[–] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 2 points 3 hours ago

No need to complicate things. A couple handfuls of sawdust eliminates the smell too

[–] CanadianCarl@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 hours ago (3 children)
[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 5 points 7 hours ago

Best we can do is take away hypothetical litter boxes in school.

[–] pupbiru@aussie.zone 3 points 7 hours ago

but then how will they overthrow a tyrannical government?!?!

… wait

Well yeah, I doubt you’ll find many disagreements here. The biggest disagreements are probably going to be the “if you go far enough left, you get your guns back” crowd. AKA the “Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary” version. Conservatives aren’t exactly popular around these parts.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

I read a very different thing. Classes were putting medical supplies in them and other emergency gear, but again, for mass shootings.

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 10 points 14 hours ago

I had an idiot teenager working for me who insisted it was happening at his school, but couldn't tell me which classroom or teacher was allowing it.

[–] helloyanis@jlai.lu 29 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

If anyone wants the wikipedia article about this litter box in schools thing, here you go+

[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 7 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

It's wiki entries like this that clearly label it as a hoax which is why Republicans think Wikipedia is woke.

[–] helloyanis@jlai.lu 4 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 51 minutes ago)

Oh no, look! A website gathering from various quotes and sources and citing them to build a complete and comprehensive page of information about something!

Even if anyone doesn't "trust" wikipedia, you can look at the sources or do your own ressearch.

But for any subject keep in mind to cross-check the info of your sources with multiple other sources and see if they tell you the same thing!

I understand that most people won't do it for news feeds they see online but if someone passes a law about this, it's the absolute least you can do!

Sometimes (most of the time lately) I'm happy to not be a resident of the US to avoid stupid stuff like that

Edit : Just added the link to the furries act article in the see also section!

[–] JPSound@lemmy.world 31 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

At no point I do I think bullying should be allowed in schools but the reality is that if a kid was demanding a litter box in which to relieve themselves, they would get ostracized, bullied into oblivion, and that behavior would stop right away. No legislation required. Humans have a way of self correcting themselves in group environments. It's an evolutionary trait from our days as tribes.

Again, bullying is a huge problem that needs to be taken far more seriously in our school systems... Buuuut, humans will act like humans, especially human children, when it comes down to things way outside the norm. Its just the way we are at this stage in evolution.

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 33 points 19 hours ago

bullying is a huge problem that needs to be taken far more seriously in our school systems

I fear the reason bullying isn't taken seriously in schools is because those in positions of power frequently use bully tactics to get there. Fascists and bullies are one and the same, and on some level, corrupt school administrators know that. School bullies provide useful extensions of fascist behavior, applied by peers to encourage conformity in environments where adults are absent. Why would fascists in charge ever want to stop that?

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 38 points 20 hours ago (3 children)

Of course not. Like most of their "anti-woke" ideas, they are based on lofty ideas.

They do this to misdirect you from the real problems, those that they usually caused all by themselves.

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[–] Elkot@lemmy.world 25 points 20 hours ago

Furries are notoriously stealthy, it's not like they walk around in bright furry colours or anything

[–] Sumocat@lemmy.world 186 points 1 day ago (13 children)

To be clear, cat litter buckets in classrooms is a real thing in some schools but only to use in active shooter lockdowns if needed. When a classroom of kids is trapped for hours, someone will need to poop, and they’re going to want to cover up it and not smell it the whole time. So unfortunately there’s a perfectly valid reason for kids to poop in litter buckets at schools that these conspiracists, who are probably the same nutjobs who think school shootings are fake, are twisting into furry accommodation.

[–] Bunbury@feddit.nl 10 points 15 hours ago

Here I was laughing at a silly man trying to forbid something that never happens. Now I’m sad again. How on earth is this the lived reality of so many children? Can’t do much from over here in Europe but what the heck.

[–] preussischblau@lemmy.ca 171 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Hey, America, what the fuck?

[–] kescusay@lemmy.world 31 points 21 hours ago

We're pretty stupid over here right now. Sorry, world.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 7 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

Slight misinfo here.

I was not able to find anyone selling or providing kitty litter buckets for active shooter response kits. I think kitty litter would not be an idea lchoice because it relies on absorbing moisture, swelling, and covering the feces via the cat's natural scraping behavior.

However, their are a number of classroom lockdown kits that do include a 5 gallon bucket to shit in, and a deodorizer tablet/solution.

[–] Sumocat@lemmy.world 8 points 13 hours ago

It was a DIY solution, not a kit, but great to know the idea was monetized.

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 6 points 17 hours ago

Yup.

And they'll do this dumbass shit before addressing gun violence or police who hang out scrolling on their phones during school shootings instead of stopping them, every single time.

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[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 129 points 1 day ago (11 children)

I can provide examples of these sickos wearing animal accessories at Texas schools.

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[–] MantisToboggon@lazysoci.al 109 points 1 day ago (2 children)

This guy absolutely beats his dick to furry porn.

Or the dude is a zoophiliac

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[–] ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net 89 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Need a new Texas bill banning Rep. Stan Gerdes from being 10 miles near any school because dude is a fucking creep.

Seconded. Does this mean we can put it up for a vote now?

[–] malloc@lemmy.world 72 points 1 day ago (3 children)

In a few years, this guy will probably get picked up for human trafficking, CSAM, soliciting sex from minors or some other degenerate activity.

Anybody remember that shit stain from FL, Matt Gaetz?

In 2020, Gaetz was accused of child sex trafficking[a] and statutory rape. After an investigation, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) decided not to charge him. In December 2024, the House Ethics Committee released a report which found evidence that Gaetz paid for sex—including with a 17-year-old—and abused illegal drugs during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. The committee report did not find sufficient evidence that he had not engaged in sex trafficking as defined in federal law.[2]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Gaetz

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