A member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights submitted preposterous testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee during a hearing on government regulation.
Gail Heriot, who was appointed to the commission in 2007 and served as an alternate delegate to the Republican convention in 2000, essentially said in her testimony that being transgender isn't even a real thing, comparing it to being a wild animal or a Russian princess.
"If I believe that I am a Russian princess, that doesn’t make me a Russian princess, even if my friends and acquaintances are willing to indulge my fantasy. Nor am I a Great Horned Owl just because — as I have been told — I happen to share some personality traits with those feathered creatures," Heriot wrote in her testimony.
To her credit, Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) called out Heriot for saying something so ridiculous. Lofgren spoke out in the hearing and said Heriot is an "ignorant bigot"
Representative Steve "Calves the Size of Cantaloupes" King, a fellow ignorant bigot, reportedly interjected to defend Heriot by telling Rep. Lofgren that she was "out of order."
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) halted Lofgren’s remarks, declaring her “out of order.” But the congresswoman didn’t back down from her criticism.
“We allow witnesses to say offensive things, but I cannot allow that kind of bigotry to go into the record unchallenged,” Lofgren said.
It was already clear to anyone whose been paying attention, but Heriot's idiotic testimony reminds us that conservatives fundamentally do not understand what it means to be transgender or even acknowledge it's existence or legitimacy.
Heriot is apparently a law professor at the University of San Diego which leads me to wonder what kind of nonsense she teaches her students.
It seemed outrageous to me that someone this ignorant would have a seat on the Commission on Civil Rights so I took a look at how she was nominated and confirmed. Heriot was apparently recommended by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and appointed by the Senate in 2007. This is why we can't have nice things.