Far-right "comedian" Alex Stein sparked considerable outrage after he said transgender soldiers should be used as "suicide bombers" as he testified before the Texas Senate during a hearing about a bathroom bill.
Stein was present to voice his support for Senate Bill 7, which would mandate that people in public schools, prisons, women’s shelters, and other government buildings use facilities corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificates. Violators could face fines of $5,000 for a first offense and $25,000 for each subsequent violation.
Boos were heard from the gallery as Stein referred to transgender women as “gargoyles in a dress,” “sexual perverts,” “mentally ill,” and accusing them of getting “satisfaction from going there [into bathrooms] and looking under a stall.” He also claimed that "transgenders love to do mass shootings"—even those most mass shooters in the U.S. are white cisgender males.
Stein said:
“I actually like transgenders in the military because, first of all, transgenders are some of the meanest people on planet Earth, so they make a good soldier, don’t you think? And then, you know, second of all, transgenders love to do mass shootings. So you know, that’s perfect for a military veteran."
"And then on top of that, the suicide rate is incredibly high among transgender people, so we could just use them. Like, the Taliban has suicide bombers. Maybe you guys can actually, you know, if you commit suicide, actually help us in the battlefield. So that would be good.”
"I think we need transgenders in the military and women's sports. When we get to the bathroom bill, we come to an asymmetrical problem because first of all, no dude cares if a bisexual woman comes in there and tries to use a pee funnel or if some ladyboy comes in there, some stud comes in there and wants to pee in the urinal. No guy's going to be threatened by these transgender women."
"But we don't want these gargoyles in a dress... coming in there and trying to pee or poop next to my girlfriend because that's disgusting."
Amid boos, he added:
"We're sick of these transgenders trying to invade women's personal spaces. These people have autogynophilia, they're sexual perverts, and they actually get satisfaction from going there and looking under a stall."
"These are mentally ill people that are on hormones, that are on all kinds of pills, they're impulsive, and they do not belong in women's restrooms."
You can hear his remarks in the video below.
Stein's remarks have been widely condemned.
More than 400 people registered to testify in person or in writing on SB 7, the majority opposing the bill. Over 100 people delivered in-person testimony during a Monday Senate State Affairs committee meeting that at times turned emotional, with speakers sharing fears and personal accounts of harassment and abuse.
Opponents warned that enforcing the law could lead to discriminatory scrutiny and surveillance targeting both cisgender and transgender women. The bill does not outline how agencies or schools should enforce it, only requiring they “take every reasonable step to ensure” no violations occur.
