The Canadian rocker was scheduled to perform April 14 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
“I find it incomprehensible that LGBT citizens are being discriminated against in the state of Mississippi,” he posted to social media. “I cannot in good conscience perform in a State where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation…
“Using my voice I stand in solidarity with all my LGBT friends to repeal this extremely discriminatory bill.” (Read the full statement below.)
The bill will go into effect July 1, 2016. It is listed in the legislature’s session as “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act." It is also known as the Religious Liberty Accommodations Act. It reads:
Title: an act to create the "protecting freedom of conscience from government discrimination act"; to provide certain protections regarding a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction for persons, religious organizations and private associations; to define a discriminatory action for purposes of this act; to provide that a person may assert a violation of this act as a claim against the government; to provide certain remedies; to require a person bringing a claim under this act to do so not later than two years after the discriminatory action was taken; to provide certain definitions; and for related purposes.”
Essentially the bill allows individuals, businesses, religious organizations and private associations to deny service not just to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, but single mothers, or those of a different religion, based on their own “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.”
Late Sunday night (April 10), Adams posted this statement in full:
“Mississippi has passed anti-LGBT ‘Religious Liberty’ bill 1523. 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. Therefore i’m cancelling my 14 April show at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Using my voice I stand in solidarity with all my LGBT friends to repeal this extremely discriminatory bill. Hopefully Mississippi will right itself and I can come back and perform for all of my many fans. I look forward to that day. - Bryan Adams #stop1523.”
In less than 12 hours, the post has been liked more than 25,000 times on Facebook and shared 2300 times. Of course not everyone agrees with his stance, but the vast majority of commentators do.
On Friday (April 8), Bruce Springsteen cancelled his show in North Carolina to fight the state’s anti-trangender “Bathroom Bill.”
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