After California governor Jerry Brown signed a new law to protect trans people by allowing them to participate in sports and go to bathrooms of their identified gender, Fox News predictably went on a transphobic tirade with conservative shock artist Michelle Malkin at the helm.

What should be celebrated as another step towards equal rights for traditionally marginalized individuals and populations was taken as an affront to common decency by Fox News correspondents, who quickly derailed any discussion of the progress of LGBTQ people and instead chose to talk about dropping test scores in California and the potential the new mandate has for abuse.

“This is social engineering run amok,” said Malkin, who sneakily portrayed this as an issue of over-zealous political correctness. “Can you imagine now, the boys want to go into the girls bathroom, and the girls want to go into the boys bathroom, and they can just say I was transgender for the moment?” said Gretchen Carlson.

Not only does this plainly show an intolerance and uneducated viewpoint about transgender issues, it not-so-subtly belies a hateful message about gender equality and the tolerance of gender non-conforming individuals. “Very scary; slippery slope,” said one commentor, re-hashing simplified and platitudinous talking points and buzzwords which, quite literally, display a fear of queer people.

Looks like fears of Fox News’ decline into gay-loving liberalism were greatly exaggerated.

h/t: Passport Magazine

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