Bruce Springsteen has canceled his concert in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Sunday because of the state’s controversial new bill that bans local anti-discrimination ordinances designed to protect gay and transgender people.
The legendary musician released the following statement on Friday on Facebook:
As you, my fans, know I’m scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday. As we also know, North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the “bathroom” law. HB2 — known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act — dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments. Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory on March 23 signed the bill, called the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, after it was passed by the North Carolina Senate.
The law was in response to Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance that allowed transgender individuals to use public bathrooms of the sex with which they identify.
The bill blocks transgender individuals from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity and stops cities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances to protect gay and transgender people.
The Greensboro Coliseum, where the Springsteen show was set to take place Sunday, has not commented, according to KTLA sister station WGHP in Greensboro.
The “Born in the U.S.A” and “Dancing in the Dark” singer, known by many as “The Boss,” plays his next show Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.
Posted by Bruce Springsteen on Friday, April 8, 2016
