Bill O'Reilly rants: Letting trans people use the right bathroom is a push 'to wipe out gender'

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly clashed with guest Kirsten Powers on Monday as he argued that allowing restroom use based on gender identity infringed upon the rights of "traditional" families, Media Matters reported.

"Conservative, traditional, taking it easy, not trying to social-engineer sexuality until the child is emotionally ready, all of those things," he said. "Not the progressive agenda to wipe out gender, which is what we're trying to do."

The Factor host was particularly incensed by a Charlotte Observer editorial published last week regarding North Carolina's heavily-criticized law barring trans restrooms from using facilities based on their gender identity.

"The thought of male genitalia in girls’ locker rooms – and vice versa – might be distressing to some," the editorial stated. "But the battle for equality has always been in part about overcoming discomfort – with blacks sharing facilities, with gays sharing marriage – then realizing that it was not nearly so awful as some people imagined."

O'Reilly called the newspaper's premise "loony," a notion Powers quickly rejected.

"All I'm saying is I don't think it should bother you," she said. "I don't think [a trans person] is preying on your daughter. This person is not a pervert. There is nothing is wrong with this person."

"It's not a matter of preying, it's a matter of being appropriate," O'Reilly countered.

Watch the segment, as posted by Media Matters, below.