The idea that transgender people are "bathroom predators" is an argument that "falls flat every single time," said Trevor Noah on The Daily Show Thursday.
Noah addressed anti-LGBT critics who do not support transgender people using public restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. "If you replace transgender with any other group in society, you realize that we've been here before?" said the Daily Show host, making a connection to how groups have been discriminated against in restroom access in the past.
While Noah did not directly reference North Carolina's House Bill 2, it is one of several anti-LGBT laws passed recently that prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms or locker rooms that match their gender identity. HB 2, introduced and signed into law in less than 12 hours during a special legislative session on March 23, also rescinds all existing LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances, prohibits new ones, bars residents from suing for discrimination in state court, and bars cities from setting a minimum wage higher than the state's.
Trans people led a social media campaign last March called "WeJustNeedtoPee," which went viral. The campaign was directed at politicians who discriminate against trans people, who in turn wanted to make their agenda clear. Noah echoed its message, saying, "The chance of you bumping into a transgender person in the bathroom is almost zero percent, but the chance of a transgender person needing a bathroom is 100 percent."
There is overwhelming evidence nationwide that there has never been a single verified report of a transgender person assaulting a cisgender (nontrans) person in a bathroom or locker room, nor has there ever been a confirmed instance of someone "pretending" to be transgender to gain access to sex-segregated spaces for nefarious purposes.
The Comedy Central host referenced how various groups, such as gay men and black people, were discriminated against in restroom access at different points in history. "When you look at it now, that seems absurd," said Noah.
"Just imagine for a second being a 55-year-old trans woman and you've lived your entire life worried about bathrooms and locker rooms. The only thing trans people are saying right now is, 'What took you guys so long? Because I feel like I've been holding it forever,'" said the Daily Show host as he ended his segment.
Watch the Trevor Noah clip below.
RELATED: North Carolina's Entire History of Homophobia in 90 Seconds, below.
