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NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Two town council members running for re-election in November are waging a public fight over school children dressing like cats, a silly notion with a serious underside.

Republican Mary Brimer and Democrat Katie Anderson, public officials seeking re-election in two months, are also tapping into a nationwide political issue in which school children as cats and having litter boxes are associated with other political issues, such as changing gender identification.  

The recent flareup began when Brimer posted on a social media site that she had “no reason to doubt my sources” telling her that “at least two NK students identify as a cat.” She added, “To that end, they have been accommodated by the NKSD with a litter box in school bathrooms.”

A flood of comments followed repeating rumors and unfounded facts about the comment.

School Superintendent Michael Waterman said he felt compelled to issue a public denial last week to the parents of the 4,000 students in town schools.

“The North Kingstown School Department has not deployed litter boxes in any school bathroom,” Waterman wrote in an email sent to parents. “This is a baseless rumor and similar social media posts have appeared in many other states in recent months.”

Next, Anderson, complaining that Brimer was trading in false information, organized a rally to support students who identify with varying gender identifications. She characterized Brimer’s social media post as “sensationalized and fabricated reports.”

A false claim that children who identify as cats and are using litter boxes in school bathrooms has spread across the internet for at least a year and has spurred reactions in school districts nationwide to situations like the one in North Kingstown.

School officials, teachers and some students in North Kingstown reported that students have not dressed up as cats, but some whether in elementary, middle or high school, have worn “cat ears” headbands as a decorative part of their attire.

They also said there have been no disturbances over the matter in classrooms or hallways.

Other education and town officials have likened the cat ears to someone wearing a Tom Brady Patriots football team jersey. “Does that make them a gender-identifying person with Tom Brady? I don’t think so,” commented one official.

Brimer conceded in an interview that she never actually talked to or directly questioned school officials about the use of litter boxes or students identifying as cats, sharing the post instead based on information she received from others.

North Kingstown High School student Emma Michaud said, “It is incredibly harmful and impacts the lives of many transgender/gender-nonconforming students in the NK school district, including myself. This rumor was created out of fear and transphobia and the fact that it has garnered so much attention and is being taken as true just demonstrates how harmful it is.”

Write to Bill Seymour, freelance writer covering news and feature stories, at independent.southcountylife@gmail.com.

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You cannot be serious! I thought I was reading The Onion! WOW!! Stupid is forever. Her source had to either be Marjorie Trailer Trash Green or Lauren Boebert.

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North Kingstown Town Council member Mary Brimer made news last week when sharing what appeared to be a widely-debunked claim that students in NK schools were self-identifying as cats and being permitted to use litter boxes in lieu of traditional bathrooms. The claims, which Brimer said came from sources she had "no reason to doubt" were rebuked by school officials and at least one fellow council member who said the post was a thinly-veiled politically-motivated attack on transgender students in the school system. To date, Brimer has not substantiated any of the claims made in the post and said this week she never actually talked to or directly questioned school officials about the use of litter boxes or students identifying as animals. Do you believe local elected officials be held to a higher standard with what they share on social media? Why or why not? Let us know in this week's poll question below.

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