In the wake of North Carolina's passage of an anti-LGBTQ law, Bruce Springsteen has canceled his North Carolina concert in solidarity with protesters.
On April 8, Springsteen took to his official website to announce that his North Carolina show - which was set to take place this Sunday, April 10 in Greensboro - would be canceled. In the statement, he not only summarized the legislation and its potential consequences, but also gave his rationale for the cancellation.
The bill in question is House Bill 2, The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which, according to CNN, would bar transgender individuals from using any public restrooms or other facilities that do not correspond to their biological sex, superseding any local ordinances and anti-discrimination laws that might state otherwise. North Carolina's Governor, Republican Pat McCrory, signed the bill into law last month.
Elaborating on the law, Springsteen shared his motivations for canceling the concert:
"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."
He later added that "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."
Although North Carolina fans may be disappointed by the sudden cancellation, the statement noted that ticket refunds will be issued.
Springsteen followed up the statement with a Facebook post urging fans to help by contacting their legislators.
Voice your opposition of discriminatory legislation like North Carolina's HB2 by contacting your elected officials. Find them here: http://bit.ly/22iOvks
Posted by Bruce Springsteen on Friday, April 8, 2016
There has been a critical error on your website.<\/p>
Learn more about debugging in WordPress.<\/a><\/p>","data":{"status":500},"additional_errors":[]}