Florida furries saddened after DeSantis law bans children from 18-plus convention
Luke Gentile
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The group behind an upcoming “furry” convention in Florida was forced to raise the attendance age for the event to 18 and up to comply with a law passed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
The Protection of Children Act was signed by DeSantis earlier this month and bans children from “adult live entertainment” events, according to a report.
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“Many have raised concerns about recent changes in Florida legislation,” the organizers behind the convention, Megaplex 2023, said.
“After reviewing Florida SB 1438, it has been decided that for legal reasons and protection of our attendees, our venue, and the overall convention, Megaplex 2023 attendees must be 18 years of age at the time of registration pickup.”
Furries are people “who enjoy dressing up as or making art of anthropomorphized creatures,” and the culture has been linked by critics to activities relating to sexual kinks surrounding animal-based characters, the report noted.
The Protection of Children Act forbids the practice of “knowingly admitting a child to an adult live performance” and punishes the act with up to a yearlong prison sentence.
The Orlando-based Megaplex is set to take place between Sept. 15 and 17, and many in the community maintain the event is family-friendly.
“Megaplex has welcomed younger fandom members and their families since its inception and making this change was very difficult,” according to organizers.
A writer for Rolling Stone criticized the effect DeSantis’s law would have on the furries in Florida.
“While it is true that there is a segment of furrydom that does treat it as a kink, it is not a representation of the wider community, and many furries do not view their interest in anthropomorphized creatures as sexual at all,” E.J. Dickson wrote. “Though many conventions do cater to the NSFW aspects of the furry fandom, they typically save such programming for later at night to ensure the rest of the con is family-friendly, or cordon off adult vendors so they are not in full view of other attendees.”
“The fact that the furry organizers felt pressured to bar children from the convention is yet another example of how it’s been seen as an attack on LGBTQ rights.”
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Those behind Megaplex hope a younger crowd will return in 2024, the report noted.
“This decision has been a difficult one, but Megaplex has not forgotten about or abandoned our younger fandom members and is looking into options for events and activities to include all age ranges and their family members,” organizers said.