Sen. John Kennedy gives CNN a quick biology lesson after network argues it's 'not possible' to determine gender at birth

After CNN ran a report on Tuesday about transgender rights in which it claimed it's "not possible to know a person's gender identity at birth" and "there is no consensus criteria for assigning sex at birth," Republican Sen. John Kennedy (La.) decided to stop by Fox News's "Tucker Carlson Tonight" to elucidate the complicated matter.

"I can't believe we're discussing this, Tucker," Kennedy said before delving into a quick biology lesson. "The person who wrote that is entitled to his opinion, but in my opinion, I think he's been in lockdown too long.

"Sex is the language we use to describe reproduction," he said. "In humans, there are only two sexes — male and female. Males have the potential to produce sperm; females have the potential to produce ova. These are observable physical characteristics. Sex is not a spectrum. It's binary; you're either male or female."

Then for a moment the senator refrained from piling onto CNN, noting that gender dysphoria — a condition in which a person feels a sense of discomfort, stress, or confusion about their assigned gender — does exist. But, Kennedy noted, that is the outlier and not the rule.

"Now, I do believe that gender dysphoria exists. It's rare, maybe one in 30,000 males, one in 100,000 females," he said. "Gender dysphoria is not an observable physical characteristic. It's an internal feeling. It's an internal feeling that a person of one sex has when he internally identifies with another sex."

Shortly after that, the folkie, quick-witted senator stated more clearly, "It's very easy to tell a boy from a girl. A boy has a penis, a girl has a vagina. Those are physical characteristics."

Fox News host Tucker Carlson complimented Kennedy for his explanation on the subject, calling it the "clearest" and most "reasonable" explanation of reality he had heard in a while.

Also during the interview, Kennedy explained why the Equality Act — recently passed by the Democratic-controlled House — is so dangerous.

It's not about whether there are more than two sexes, the senator argued, claiming that fact is "clearly settled." Rather it's about "power and government."

"It's about to what extent are the American people willing to give government, the bureaucracy, the managerial elite the authority to regulate every aspect of our lives — education, religion, public accommodation, speech — in order to elevate the status of those who either have or claim to have gender dysphoria," he said.

"For example," he continued. "To what extent are Americans willing to give government the authority to require schools to make teenage girls in a junior high locker room, shower and change clothes with a biological boy who either has or claims to have gender dysphoria? To what extent are Americans willing to give government the authority to require all women's sports programs to make women compete with much stronger biological males who identify or claim to identify with females?"