Ted Cruz voiced his support for North Carolina's harmful new 'bathroom bill' during an MSNBC Town Hall that aired last night, saying it's "perfectly reasonable" to ban transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity because "men should not be going to the bathroom with little girls."

Cruz's position on the matter is informed solely by his belief in the preposterous (and widely debunked) myth that transgender people are sexual predators who use gender identity to gain access to restrooms for the purpose of assaulting children.

Asked by moderator Chuck Todd about the new law, which has been skewered by national media as blatant transphobia, Cruz blamed "political correctness" for inspiring a war on "religious liberty" in America.

"The political correctness that we have embraced – enough already," he said. "Look, the Obama Education Department is going against a junior high insisting that the junior high must allow a teenage boy to shower with teenage girls. Now, that’s just nuts. That’s not a reasonable position. That’s crazy."

Asked for a response to the pressure "big business" places on legislators to block similar anti-LGBT bills around the country, Cruz said:

"I think big business gives in to political pressure and has been willing over and over again to trample on religious liberty. One of the saddest things we’ve seen is the retreat of the Democratic Party from religious liberty.

…

Now unfortunately in the last 20 years the modern Democratic party has gotten so extreme and so radical they’ve decided there’s no room for religious liberty and they are excoriating any one states that pass legislation identical to [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which] they supported [under President Bill Clinton.]"

On Saturday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich became the first Republican presidential candidate to address the new trend of "religious liberty" legislation, revealing he wouldn't have signed a similar anti-trans bathroom bill.

"Why do we have to write a law every time we turn around in this country?" he asked Face the Nation host John Dickerson. "Can’t we figure out just how to get along a little bit better and respect one another? I mean that’s where I think we ought to be. Everybody, chill out, get over it if you have a disagreement with somebody."

For his part, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump hasn't yet offered any meaningful commentary on the new law.

Below, check out Cruz's comments from last night:

h/t Towleroad