Last month, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed a sweeping blanket law that ended anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community.
It has been widely regarded as discriminatory as it prevents transgender people from using lavatories that do not match the gender they were born with.
The law has been criticized by companies and celebrities world wide.
Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal, who said:
“The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture.”
Ellen DeGeneres spoke of her outrage saying:
“This is not politics. This is human rights.”
Now Bruce Springsteen has joined in solidarity by cancelling a show scheduled in North Carolina. In a statement on his Facebook page the icon said:
“It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.”
“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.”
