The Megaplex Furry Convention, taking place in Orlando, Florida, in September is barring minors from the event due to legislation designed to protect children, passed by the state legislature and signed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Furries — individuals who identify with anthropomorphic animals, often dressing up as them — are holding a convention at the Hyatt Regency in September 15-17, 2023, but last week, the organization released a statement regarding recent Florida legislation, citing it as the reason it is barring children from the event.
“Many have raised concerns about recent changes in Florida legislation. 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,” the statement reads, explaining that it has welcomed younger “fandom members” in the past and deeming this decision a “difficult” one.
“While this change impacts the 2023 convention, it is unsure if this will have to continue for future years. It is our hope that this change is temporary and that we can welcome members of all ages back next year,” the organization continued.
“With this in mind, the public decorum portion of the Code of Conduct as well as standards for programming, attire, and behavior in convention space will not be changing and will continue to be enforced as has been in the past,” it added:
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.
Many have also voiced concerns regarding CS/HB 1521. After Legal review, it has been concluded that this does not affect us as our convention is held in a private venue. We are talking with the hotel about the possibility of offering gender neutral restrooms in the convention space. If we are able to offer this we will have them clearly marked on our convention map.
The legislation cited, otherwise known as the Protection of Children Act, imposes fines on establishments that allow children to attend sexually explicit adult shows, such as drag shows. In many instances, furries have been associated with erotic behavior, likely leading to this decision by the organizers of the event.
Violators of this law, who are “knowingly admitting a child to an adult live performance,” could face fines or jail time, as the legislation authorizes the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to “fine, suspend, or revoke the license of any public lodging establishment or public food service establishment if the establishment admits a child to an adult live performance,” according to the text of the bill.
This is not the first event that has been affected by the new law, as the Tampa Pride on the River event on the west side of the state has been canceled altogether due to the law.
Tampa Pride President Carrie West explained that there would be drag queens performing at the public event, easily accessible to children. That also raised concerns about participating businesses facing repercussions.
“Lot of famous Ru Paul drag queens that come in for the event,” West said, according to WFLA. “People come flying in for that event just to see the famous drag queens.”
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Carlos Guillermo Smith/POLITICALLY+ /TMXBut the governor has stood firm, signing the legislation earlier this month.
“We’re going to hold you accountable. … When you have adult entertainment, you have these sexually explicit performances, there should not be any of these kids there. And this is going to make sure that that’s the case,” DeSantis said prior to signing the bill into law.
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