Despite great strides, transgender people are still fighting for equality

 By 
Andrea Romano
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

From the outpouring of support for Caitlyn Jenner to the first transgender celebrity appearing at Madame Tussauds to the Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, 2015 has been a banner year for LGBT rights so far.

But on Last Week Tonight on Sunday, John Oliver cautioned viewers that there is still a fight for equality to be won, especially for transgender people everywhere. "Let's not get too complacent about how far we've come," he said.

Oliver focused on the many issues transgender people still face, including bullying, discrimination and the constant barrage of inappropriate questions about their bodies from their social circles and the mainstream media alike.

"Even when the news media are trying to be supportive, they can still make dumb mistakes," Oliver said.

He concluded the segment with a simple message: "This is a civil rights issue, and if you're not willing to support transgender people for their sake, at least do it for your own ... If you take the anti-civil rights side, and deny people access to something they're entitled to, history will not be kind to you."

Oliver also addressed CNN mistaking a flag covered in dildos for an ISIS at the Pride March in London. (Yeah, that happened.)

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