They targeted cities, counties, county commissioners, mayors, governors and election officials for legal action, focusing on key states Trump lost in 2020 Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Minnesota. Another topic many parents would like addressed are furries, a speaker said. Others, repeating the unfounded claim that the countys vote-counting machines are insecure, said Stevens would bring more trust to the system and it would save the county money by not immediately appointing a new elections director. I'm a real-life furry and my lifestyle is no dirty 'cat litter box' joke. Thats why its doubly important for pro-life advocates to ensure the integrity of state and local elections, one of the groups attorneys wrote in an op-ed last summer. Rumours of a school accommodating a "furry" caused a flurry first in the United States, then it made its way to Canada. Its not escapism, its not a departure from reality. The Daily Beast reports that in "Pennsylvania, Maine, Michigan, and Iowa in recent months, school board meetings have been disrupted by allegations that educators are giving special treatment to furry students.". Initially, the group which is run by staunch Catholics and named for a Catholic saint and lawyer focused on defending people in the anti-abortion movement. ", But through an open records request, CBS News Colorado found earlier emails that appear to contradict that. I do not believe the committee reviewed these materials, as they declined to schedule an interview with me, where I was happy to discuss the materials, he said in an email. Its culture war, its control, and its not about protecting kids, OFurr explains. Northon said that he was called to the state Capitol by several lawmakers who were clients and were locked out of the building. But with a fixation on nonexistent litter boxes and lunch tables, the furry panic turns a thriving subculture into a cudgel against public schools and their students. She said the issue gained attention on social media once people started sharing photos and videos of the feline costumes and behavior, I started getting videos and messages from kids, and I said, Ok, Im going to post this so parents know whats going on.. (WFRV) - A viral video of a UW-Oshkosh professor and a Wisconsin talk show host is causing some school districts in Wisconsin to respond to alleged 'Furry . Not content with panicking about the teaching of critical race theory, conservative parents throughout America have now been gripped with fear about their schools trying to accommodate students who dress up in animal costumes. The superintendent tells WLKY the. Target announced it was making all its bathrooms gender neutral. The "furry protocol" rumor is the newest wrinkle in a series of false claims concerning absurd behavior in schools. Ironically, OFurr said, its the rightnot furrieswho wont stop talking about cat shit. The first notable instance of furry panic occurred when right-wing activists pushed a false claim about schools in Michigan placing litter boxes in bathrooms to allow furry students to use them, and the bogus rumors about furry infiltration into the public education system have only grown from there. Its a space for creativity and play, young furries and their parents explainedand like any youth subculture (see: goths and MySpace queens of decades past) some of the allure is in furrydoms inscrutability to adults. Fear of 'furries' in school grips conservative parents fooled by absurd Facebook rumors Brad Reed February 01, 2022 Not content with panicking about the teaching of critical race theory,. 'Stranger Things' Gave Us a D! Emails: JeffCo school officials knew "furries" were an issue after denial. The state Supreme Court ultimately suspended his law license indefinitely in 2013 for 11 violations of professional conduct rules, including misleading a judge and grand jury. ", In another email, Deputy Superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza says, "We have all received the emails about the furries in schools..", And in yet another email, Tara Pena, chief of family school and community partnerships, wonders, "If it [would be] helpful to mention that calling into question students dressing or "identifying" as furries is part of a larger, national political platform to further marginalize our transgender and lgbtq+ students. These panels would have the power to investigate elections, determine whether laws were broken, force local officials to fund forensic audits by disappointed candidates, stay election results when appropriate and even place localities into receivership to ensure elections are run properly. Blogs in Iowa and Idaho promoted the stories this fall, claiming that furry students were either being granted special litter boxes, or were being exempted from homework (cant grip pencil with paws). 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. In Wisconsin, the uproar over the grants became a central element of a taxpayer-funded, partisan review of the 2020 election, led by Trump supporter Michael Gableman, a former state Supreme Court justice. or click here to become a subscriber. D! Americans have been left raging after an 11-year-old boy found a sexually explicit book in his middle school library. I was uh. READ MORE: Sad: Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked for attempting to get Adam Kinzinger booted from his committees, In York County, Pennsylvania, for example, Facebook rumors began swirling around among conservative locals warning that furries "could be in your childs classroom hissing at your child and licking themselves.". Its culture war, its control, and its not about protecting kids, Patch OFurr, proprietor of the furry news site Dogpatch Press, told The Daily Beast. Instead, a furry might play-act the role of a cartoon animal, but when nature calls, shell step out of character and remove her costume to use a normal toilet. Only one is still pending; the rest were voluntarily dismissed or ended in defeat, according to the commission. "It's something called furries," he said.. On Jan. 2, 2021, Kline hosted a conference call with 300 state legislators in an attempt to disseminate purported evidence of election fraud, according to a subpoena issued to him by the Jan. 6 committee. The supervisors moved forward despite a warning from the attorney generals office they received on Monday night, in which the solicitor general wrote that he had serious concerns about the legality of the drafted agreement. If you are aware of legal authority for the draft Agreement, please promptly provide it to us, Solicitor General Joshua Bendor wrote. Cat!. Patterson is an Indiana State Teachers Association board member. In Pennsylvania, Maine, Michigan, and Iowa in recent months, school board meetings have been disrupted by allegations that educators are giving special treatment to furry students. Carpenter said children in schools express themselves in many ways, but the rumours of students . Even before Marra left, the board had already proposed giving him more control over elections. Fargo School Board member Jennifer Benson told The Forum that a student informed her some schools have litter boxes in restrooms for students who identify as furries. The website is a online portal for scheduling meet ups and sharing information. ", Edwards is baffled, "Why are you trying to cover it up, rather than deal with it on the level it is? Kaardal filed at least 18 administrative complaints with the Wisconsin Elections Commission, beginning shortly before the 2020 election. It happened every time a school board member spoke up about changes to the Central York School Districts COVID-19 plan. School children dress up as animals cats or dogs during the school day; they meow, and they bark," Republican state Sen. Bruce Bostelman said during the. Taking the interim job as elections director is the best way to solve the problem, he said. Still, this sounds like a small group of nerdy, socially awkward kids who are going through a phase. But there is one major difference with the agreement, which Yuma County Recorder Richard Colwell provided to Votebeat on Tuesday. Send it to The Daily Beasthere. I have two grandkids in school and my grandkids didnt want to go to school anymore, she said. The grandmother said a petition to end the practice was created by students and has more than 1,000 signatures. It's frustrating that it turned political rather than what's best for the kids at school.". Patch OFurr, proprietor of the furry news site Dogpatch Press, tells The Daily Beast that many of the same people spreading bogus furry rumors are the same people agitating to ban books they don't like. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The initiative, established in early 2021, targeted federal voter rights legislation for defeat. Ive been very online for more than half my life, and Ive witnessed every possible expression of furrydom that one can imagine: the costumes, the fanart, the porn, the meetups, etc. The director of the Public Schools Branch in Prince Edward Island, Canada, took a similar stance when furry hoaxes flooded his districts social media in October. You are reading: "Litter boxes in schools for furries in maine". This is a very stereotypical belief about the furry community, and it still baffles me to think that this is a widely . EDIT: We are now being told the litter box was allegedly brought in as a form of harassment against the "Otherkin." I heard him say, Leave my kid out of this. Two administrators from the school broke up this interaction and shuffled the four aggressors out of the building, and then asked the father if he was alright. But the narrative that schools would indulge students in this fashion has a much darker underbelly. But it wasn't until Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl raised the issue in a radio interview - saying "kids are identifying as cats" - that it erupted in controversy. It is set to end on Dec. 31, 2024, just after the November 2024 presidential election. He was getting agitated overwhelming frustrated. The districts superintendent debunked the rumor in a scathing email. By October, furry fears were making their way into school board meetings. But it was in Michigans Midland school district, not Central York, that the claims finally caught fire. The organization also considers its efforts to ban ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin a success. The districts superintendent told the station that a small number of students had violated the dress code by wearing cat ears or tails, and that the situation was under control. VAERS scientists look for unusual patterns. Copyright 2023 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Updated: Apr 27, 2022 / 02:11 PM CDT. Then came Trump and an obsession among his followers with proving that he lost due to election fraud, and a new mission emerged. A Michigan school district has debunked a wild claim that a school provided litter boxes for students who identified as "furries" people who dress up as anthropomorphic animals. These people will hiss at you or scratch at you if they dont like something youre doing.. The Board of Supervisors for the southern Arizona county voted 2-1 on Tuesday afternoon to transfer the boards election oversight to Stevens, giving up their statutorily-prescribed control over the appointment of the countys elections director, Election Day procedures, ballot counting and presentation of election results. READ MORE: The inherent racism of anti-vaxx movements. Bendor appeared concerned about Cochise Countys proposal, though, because of the lack of clarity around just how much authority supervisors were giving Stevens perhaps including establishing voting locations, appointing workers, approving ballot contests, and finalizing results. This is only reinforced by the fact that it is a predominantly online fandom and you can pretend to essentially be whoever you want behind a screen. Another Wisconsin judge, in state court, rejected the Thomas More Societys lawyers characterization of the grants as election bribery, calling the assertion ridiculous., Likewise, a federal judge in Iowa ruled in a case brought by the Thomas More Society that the record contains no evidence supporting accusations that the grants pose an actual risk of shaping the outcome of any election or of favoring any particular party or candidate.. The current misrepresentation of furriesthat they simply want to be animals and are sexual deviantsdates back decades. COVID vaccines came with much stricter VAERS reporting requirements than other adult vaccines. The issue was first brought to light at a Dec. 20 school board meeting for Midland Public Schools, around 100 miles northwest of Detroit. I tried to help them talk to the police, he said in an emailed response. Republicans furious after Democrat questions 'God-given' rights at House hearing, 'Toxic sludge': Paul Ryan torches Tucker Carlson when questioned about Fox News' election coverage, 'Beyond parody': Critics torch Marjorie Taylor Greene for her latest appeal to Republicans, 'Liar, liar': Joe Biden amuses crowd with quip about Marjorie Taylor Greene, 'Really unacceptable': FBI shredded following new watchdog report, Watch: Anti-drag GOP governor bolts from reporters who unearthed photos of him in drag, This multi-millionaire with a cushy desk job wants you to work until youre 70. Jen Fifield is a reporter for Votebeat based in Arizona. Its not accusatory enough. While Arizona law splits election duties between the recorder and supervisors, many counties have given the recorder more authority over election procedures in the past, including Maricopa County for decades and, currently, Yuma County. As director of the election project for Thomas More, Kline couldnt argue the legal cases himself because of his ethical violations in Kansas, but he oversaw investigators and analysts, hired litigators and devised strategies. Theres always some teen craze that people inevitably blow out of proportion. The Ruling. How my high school AND college found out I was a furry! Multiple litter box hoaxes make explicit reference to gender-neutral litter boxes (a parallel to battles over gender-affirming bathroom choices in schools) or claim that students identify as furries (a phrasing uncommon in furry media, but with parallels to how conservative media often describes transgender youth). Still, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told Votebeat on Tuesday that historically, Arizona counties have made this type of decision on how to delegate election responsibilities and they should have the right to do so. Masthead | Claims of litter boxes in school bathrooms have cropped up on social media both locally and around the country. This was the same project that generated the investigation into potential data falsification. While the districts superintendent assured WLWT that this furry gear is, in fact, a dress code violation, that hasnt seemed to ease the worries of the anonymous student who started the petition. Edwards was a registered Democrat until this year. He said for months schools and the PSB have received phone calls and emails about the issue. Supervisors still approved some decisions made by the recorder, and the elections director still did the duties that state law gives to the elections official, such as presenting final election results to the board for approval. (The organization does not release the names of its donors.). 13, 2022 7:00 am, Updated: May. Much of Gablemans final report, released in March 2022, echoed the societys assertions about private election grants and one of its other chief concerns: the validity of some votes from nursing homes. Lawyers for the society, in recent years, also have brought legal action opposing vaccine mandates, gay marriage and transgender rights. Debunking myths about kids identifying as animals, and litter boxes in schools Published: November 7, 2022 4.32pm EST. In a slew of related legal actions in Wisconsin and other states, the Thomas More Society also raised the possibility that some nursing home residents had been able to vote despite having been declared mentally incompetent; challenged signature verifications for absentee ballot applications; and questioned COVID-19 restrictions that limited some large gatherings, such as campaign crowds, but not others, such as Black Lives Matter protests. In Wisconsin, the Thomas More Society is also challenging the ease of obtaining absentee military ballots. Who cares? The character you choose is known as your. One of its strategists, Phill Kline, tried to convince state legislatures in swing states to hold off on certifying Joe Bidens electors, a maneuver that drew the notice of the House Jan. 6 committee. The narrative goes like this: Schools are now so accommodating of. Anyone can report that they experienced any symptoms after receiving a vaccine. The society declined repeated requests from ProPublica for an interview or to answer specific questions. Got a tip? Roberts, the furry expert, said the furry community can act as a safe home for young people who might be jeopardized by efforts to ban school books about autism and LGBT issues (like Central York schools did earlier this year). The Meade County School district is dealing with an unusual situation: a group of high school students is attending school acting like and dressing as cats. Luke Macfarlane's Hallmark Channel Past Prepared Him for Gay Rom-Com 'Bros'. Does Alan Cumming Really Live in a Scottish Castle? The superintendent tells WLKY the situation is being addressed, but according to a concerned grandparent, it's an ongoing problem that has many students on edge . The state Assembly speaker later shut down the inquiry and Gableman got a job with the Thomas More Society. Furries are a fandom, like anime, Star Trek or . 3 Min Read. The decision came after hours of impassioned public comment both for and against the plan. The rumor that furries people who have an interest in anthropomorphic animal characters and sometimes dress up as them used litter boxes in the school district, which is about two hours. Al Anderson said Crosby, Judd, and Stevens have taken a wrecking ball to Cochise Countys election department.. (Furscience set the bathroom record straight in 2016, when they made a tongue-in-cheek video about the impossibility of using a toilet in a fursuit.). If clothing is disruptive, district policy gives principals the power to place restrictions on it, this would include students dressing in costume. However, the increase in 2021 and 2022 is better explained by the biggest and most carefully-monitored vaccine rollout in US history, more stringent reporting requirements for COVID vaccines, and increased public awareness of the VAERS system. Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik told the committee that Kline briefed Giuliani on an allegation about a postal truck carrying completed ballots across state lines, a claim that was later debunked by postal inspectors working with the FBI. Ron DeSantis and Florida's Doctor Antivax, 'The maths are hard': Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked for not understanding what 'seized' means, Marjorie Taylor Greene garners few sympathizers after claiming she was 'attacked' in a restaurant, 'Thats weaponization': Dem smacks down Jim Jordan for ignoring Trump DOJ corruption, 'Im not gonna yield!' We respect him terribly, Brejcha said in a 2020 webinar. I think you have vilified the election process.. Members of the furry fandom write . The superintendent tells WLKY. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Furries. Theyre targeting the places kids have a little bit of privacy in schools, like their lunch or their bathroom breaks. That allegation wasnt true, either. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) A rumor going around on social media has been raising some eyebrows. Beginning shortly before the 2020 election principals the power to place restrictions on it, this sounds like a group! 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