THE lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have hit back at comments made by a Gwent MP.

In his MP column published in the South Wales Argus earlier this week, Monmouth MP David Davies said that “anyone in possession of male genitalia should be expected to use male facilities regardless of what gender they feel they are”, amongst others.

Adam Smith, chairman of Rainbow Newport, a group that supports the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in the city, said: “Giving a person the right to live and be who they are, as long as it brings no harm to others, doesn’t take away another person’s right.

“If a person wishes to use the toilet they identify with, then so be it. All toilets have separate cubicles and everyone uses them to do the same thing. Therefore, I don’t see an issue.

“In our homes, we all have unisex toilets and restaurants and clubs have now started to introduce unisex toilets. “

Alex Jones, a transgender person living in Newport, said he has never heard someone speak “in such a transphobic way”.

“What Mr Davies wrote can be damaging for trans individuals, it can stop people from being themselves, can cause hate crimes to possibly rise and can cause transphobic slurs being used,” he said. “As transgender individuals, we deserve the same rights as a cisgender person, and basic education should be taught to MP’s who may not understand what we as people are going through.

“We deserve to use the toilets we are most comfortable in, we belong on wards that cater our needs whilst in hospital and we deserve to be listened to and respected.”

Linda, another member of the transgender community in Gwent said Mr Davies column “very much angered” her.

“He is trying to say that transwomen, and transmen, should not be allowed to use gender appropriate facilities, such as changing rooms and toilets when going about our daily lives,” she said.

David Davies MP said that what he said is “perfectably reasonable” and that he was not making a statement, but asking a question - which he thinks needs debating in a “reasonable” fashion.