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Cosplay, which is short for "costume play," generally involves people creating costumes reflecting pre-existing characters, characters seen in film or comic books. Attire can range from accessories as simple as animal ears, tails or shirts to elaborate costumes. Some people create a "fursona," or an animal persona they dress up as with "distinct personalities, histories, relationships and attitudes," according to Furscience. The term furry refers to individuals with an interest in anthropomorphic animals, often expressed through art, costume, and fandom.
What is a furry? Subculture targeted in Oklahoma bill has nothing to do with litter boxes
The topic came up recently when Oklahoma lawmaker Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, decided to file a bill targeting "furries," or people in a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters, in Oklahoma schools. One Oklahoma lawmaker, Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, decided to file a bill targeting "furries," or people in a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters, in Oklahoma schools. House Bill 3084 is aimed at kids who dress like animals at school, commonly referred to as "furries". "Any time we are catering to a mental health disease of a kid thinking they're an animal i think we've got problems," he said. "Any time we are catering to a mental health disease of a kid thinking they're an animal I think we've got problems," he said.
Furry Scale
News of the bill began to spread on January 17th, 2024, with multiple news media sites including HuffPost[4] and Rolling Stone[5] reporting on it. Besides news outlets reporting on the bill, many netizens had a field day making fun of Rep. Justin Humphrey and Oklahoma House Bill 3084, especially the furry community, who openly stated their repulsion towards the proposed law. Every year, the State Election Board will have to query the voter registration database. Addresses with more than 10 registered voters will be passed along to local district attorneys who will investigate to determine if there is any violation of the state's voter laws.
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Oklahoma Republican files bill to ban 'furries' from school - Daily Kos
Oklahoma Republican files bill to ban 'furries' from school.
Posted: Thu, 18 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
A new law requires all school library materials to reflect "community standards" through age-appropriate materials. This is just one of a handful of changes to the state's medical marijuana laws. Oklahoma's state treasurer will be tasked with carrying out a new law that requires the state to divest from any banks or financial companies that boycott fossil fuel energy companies.
And what of high school mascots — a type of expression typically welcomed by schools? Could they be barred from participating in pep rallies or roaming the sidelines at football games? If HB 3084 were enacted, it may be the end of the line for costumed mascots similar to the Nittany Lion, Big Al, or OU’s very own Boomer and Sooner at public primary and secondary schools in the state of Oklahoma.
Although lawmakers filed numerous bills this year to regulate content in school libraries, which have become a flashpoint in the ongoing culture wars, only a couple of bills became law. Humphrey took a little bit of heat for the two bills Wednesday, but it will all come down to what happens this legislative session. "If someone wants to have school spirit and wear a bulldog costume to a pep assembly, are you going to call animal control to haul the kid away?" he questioned.
The legislation goes so far as to mandate that animal control services be contacted to remove offending students from campuses. In addition to the ongoing moral panic over trans kids, conservatives have worked themselves into an absolute lather about furries in schools. In 2022, they were downright panicked over a right-wing urban legend that the woke epidemic was causing some schools to provide litter boxes for students who identify as furries. Despite the fact that this was untrue, several Republican political hopefuls and a handful of actual lawmakers used the fake litter box story to fire up their bases on the campaign trail. Ahead of the 2024 Oklahoma legislative session, Humphrey filed a bill targeting "furries," or people in a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters, in Oklahoma schools.
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On January 17th, 2024, X[6] user @ZeppelinCoyote (a furry) posted several photos of themselves in their fursuit during high school, writing, "oklahoma is attempting to codify into law that furries can be removed from school using animal control," garnering over 170 likes in two days (shown below). On January 18th, TikToker[7] @woke_karen posted a video explaining the bill, garnering over 45,000 views in a day. The bill would require parents or guardians to pick the student up from school. But, if parents are unable to pick the student up, the bill says "animal control services shall be contacted to remove the student."
Do students really use litter boxes at schools?
Only about 20 percent of furries have costumes, he added, like fans of cosplay or comic book conventions. "The ones who don't necessarily want to costume, they go to conventions," Cole said. "Not all furries are fursuiters, and some fursuiters aren't really furries. Some are just people who like to perform."
While stories about furries have raised questions and concerns across the country, there is little evidence to indicate widespread problems in schools. This year, along with the bill seeking to ban furries from public schools, Humphrey authored a bill, HB 3133, that would classify anyone of Hispanic descent, who is a member of a criminal street gang and has been convicted of gang-related offenses, as having committed an act of terrorism. The bill goes on to suggest that a parent or guardian would be contacted to pick the student up, otherwise, animal control would be contacted to collect the children.
The new laws run the gamut from setting age limits for motorized scooters to ensuring health insurance coverage of diagnostic mammograms. House Bill 3133 filed by Representative Humphrey states in part that any person who is of Hispanic descent, is a member of a criminal street gang, or has been convicted of a gang-related offense shall be deemed to have committed acts of terrorism. AnthroExpo, furry conventions and other cosplay events are great opportunities for people-watching or learning about the furry fandom. He says he doesn’t care how kids behave at home, or even in public, but he does draw the line at the school door.
The bill was written up in December 2023 and went viral in mid-January 2024 along with a video of Humphrey using a myth about classes putting litter boxes in classrooms for students who identify as cats to support the bill, inspiring reactions and memes online, including pushback from the furry community. Humphrey’s anti-furries bill, formally titled "Oklahoma House Bill 3084," was written on December 6th and proposes that "students who purport to be an imaginary animal or animal species, or who engage in anthropomorphic behavior commonly referred to as furries at school shall not be allowed to participate in school curriculum or activities." Humphrey's bill, House Bill 3084, would ban "students who purport to be an imaginary animal or animal species, or who engage in anthropomorphic behavior commonly referred to as furries at school" from participating in class and school activities. The proposed bill inspired reactions and memes on social media, including pushback from the furry community.
Even if the anti-furry moral panic wasn’t really just a smokescreen for transphobia, it would still be cruel toward children in a way that we should oppose. If we believe that children deserve the right to self-expression, that holds true for whatever form that expression might take, whether that’s wearing clothing that doesn’t “align” with the gender they were assigned at birth or drawing themselves as an anthropomorphic dog. No matter what group they’re targeting, the Republican rallying cry to “protect the children,” used by many as political currency, only serves to further disenfranchise minors. In later interviews, the legislator claimed the bill was written in response to students behaving like animals and using litter boxes at schools, which has widely been debunked as a hoax. Circling back to the Oklahoma ban, the sponsor of this bill cites a debunked story of schools providing litter boxes to furries as the impetus for the legislation.
He does admit the verbiage in the bill about calling animal control to the school if an offending student’s parents won’t come pick them up is likely to come out of the bill via an amendment. So if you’re going to pretend to be an animal, we’re going to have a hard time instructing you. I think most schools will agree with me, most superintendents agree,” Humphrey said. Before the 2024 Oklahoma legislative sessions begin, thousands of bills will be filed, and most will never come close to becoming law.
On January 19th, X[10] user @karrotknife posted in response to the news, "you're a resident of oklahoma stop worrying about furries and go back to kissing your cousin," garnering over 130 likes in under a day. Register now for our free OneVote public service or GAITS Pro trial account and you can begin tracking this and other legislation, all driven by the real-time data of the LegiScan API. Providing tools allowing you to research pending legislation, stay informed with email alerts, content feeds, and share dynamic reports. Use our new PolitiCorps to join with friends and collegaues to monitor & discuss bills through the process.Monitor Legislation or view this same bill number from multiple sessions or take advantage of our national legislative search. It’s a bill wanting to get animal control involved for students who dress and act like animals.
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