Having been an alleged former sex worker, I can understand Lauren Boebert’s fascination with what genitals other people possess–this knowledge is essential for that industry. However, she’s now a career politician, and her recent tirade against a woman she thought was using the “wrong” bathroom shows this fascination is not only alive and well, but has evolved into an obsession. An obsession with (sexually) violent consequences.

But, I’m getting a little ahead of myself …

Ever since the media’s grossly inaccurate coverage of the Stonewall Riots hit the mainstream in the late 60s, American conservatives have spent that time honing their ability to exploit the ignorance of their flock by using baseless scare tactics.

Over the last decade, they’ve implemented a tactic I call the Bathroom Boogeyman.

By using “alternative facts” to support their claims, the Republican party has painted the picture that anyone who doesn’t epitomize the major traits of whatever gender might be on their birth certificate is Hell-bent on decimating the nation, leaving nothing but a trail of rainbow carnage in their wake.

And every election cycle, the hyperbole gets worse and worse; leading us to the current world we find ourselves in.

At the end of January this year, numerous congressional members of the Republican party—feeling enabled by the myriad of anti-trans executive orders signed by Trump—introduced a number of different bathroom/gender identity bills.

Not to be outdone (or to be confused with acting classy in any way), Colorado’s Lauren Boebert decided to carry the torch in her own special way around the same time by trying to kick a “guy” out of a women’s restroom in the US Capitol.

From bursting through the door to bringing along another member of the House back to the “scene of the crime” to investigate, Boebert tried to make the biggest scene imaginable. Unfortunately for her, the person using the bathroom was just as much of a woman as Lauren is—no offense to the victim of this humiliation intended.

Though Boebert later admitted to having made a mistake by saying “I apologized, I learned a lesson, and it won’t happen again,” the justifications used by the Republican party that fuels these little tirades have become so rooted in their core that we know Boebert is a big, fat fibber.

So, what exactly IS the truth behind these repeated MAGA talking points?

As I mentioned earlier, the GOP leadership has used a few different pieces of made-up bullshit over the years to justify whatever bill it is they’re trying to pass that prevents people from peeing in peace. Though the presentation of each may be slightly different, at the end of the day there are really only two reasons conservative politicians give for preventing inclusivity at the toilet.

The first comes from their absolute certainty that no man would ever want to transition, therefore anyone using a different gender identity is doing so as a façade in order to gain entry to the women’s bathroom for the purpose of sexual assault. The second reason given centers around keeping children safe from predators who are also using gender identity for the same purpose of assault.

Not only are these rationales grossly reductive towards the concept of what it means to be your authentic human self, they’re also incredibly inaccurate.

Over the last half-decade, there have been two major studies that examined both of these concerns. When it comes to men sexually assaulting women by using some form of identity subterfuge, a report released by the National Policing Institute found that this kind of attack simply doesn’t happen.

“Based on our review of sexual assault complaints in Atlanta, Dallas, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, and Tucson, before and after an official amendment to the human rights ordinance in that locality, we did not find evidence of sexual assaults taking place in which men, under the guise of being women or transgender, entered women’s bathrooms to commit a sexual assault or otherwise victimize women.”

Sickeningly, a study released by the National Library of Medicine shows that when it comes to children being victimized, Boebert and those of her ilk are half-right.

Over a one-year period, survey responses were analyzed from almost 4,000 transgender and non-binary US adolescents in grades 7 through 12 who participated in the cross-sectional LGBTQ Teen Study. Researchers found that youth whose restroom/locker room use was restricted were more likely to experience sexual assault compared to those without restrictions. The 12-month prevalence of sexual assault was 26.5% among transgender boys, 27.0% among non-binary youth assigned female at birth, 18.5% among transgender girls, and 17.6% among non-binary youth assigned male at birth.

So, yes, in an area where there are bathroom restrictions, there are higher incidents of sexual assault … against those who are transgender.

The levels of ignorance displayed by this nation are at a zenith, and it saddens me to think that there will be many, many people being attacked sexually as a result. And as long as members of Congress like Boebert are more than happy to hook up with the likes of Kid Rock, I’m afraid these levels of ignorance—and accompanying stench-mixture of Marlboro menthols, Axe body spray, and stale Bud Light—will proliferate.