In a decision that probably cuts like a knife to rock fans in Mississippi, Canadian musician Bryan Adams has cancelled his April 14 show in Biloxi.
"I find it incomprehensible that LGBT citizens are being discriminated against in the state of Mississippi. I cannot in good conscience perform in a state where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation," Adams said in a statement. "Therefore i’m cancelling my 14 April show at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum."
Adams specifically cited HB 1523, a bill that sanctions discrimination, as the reason behind the cancellation. The legislation would allow a range of individuals, corporations, healthcare providers, and nonprofit organizations—including those that receive taxpayer funding to perform social services—to refuse to provide goods and services to same sex couples, single mothers, divorcees, and anyone who has had sex outside of marriage and their families.
The decision comes a few days after rock titan Bruce Springsteen cancelled his own show in North Carolina due to the recent passage of HB 2, one of the so-called "bathroom bills" that dictates which restrooms transgender people are allow to use. (HB 2's discriminatory provisions are not built around the pretense of protecting religious belief, so it is not a piece of legislation we track here at Protect Thy Neighbor. Still, it is a bill that seriously harms LGBT Americans.)
"Using my voice I stand in solidarity with all of my LGBT friends to repeal this extremely discriminatory bill," Adams continued. "Hopefully Mississippi will right itself and I can come back and perform for all of my many fans. I look forward to that day."