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The Washington Post

The backlash against North Carolina’s law banning anti-discrimination ordinances kept going unabated on Friday, as Bruce Springsteen announced that he was cancelling a weekend show in the state in solidarity with those protesting the bill.
Springsteen and the E Street Band were scheduled to perform at the Greensboro Coliseum on Sunday night as part of their current tour, which continues in the United States this month and heads to Europe in May.
On Friday afternoon, Springsteen released a statement saying that he could no longer play the show.
“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,” Springsteen said in the message posted on his website.
“It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.”
Springsteen’s stance comes as a host of major businesses and organisations have criticised North
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
Bruce Springsteen
Carolina’s law, which prohibits transgender people from using bathrooms that don’t match the gender they were assigned at birth. This legislation also bans local governments from extending civil rights protections to gay and transgender people.

Earlier this week, PayPal announced that it would no longer open a facility in Charlotte due to the law. State officials had said PayPal’s facility would have pumped millions into the local economy by next year and employed 400 people.
Bruce Springsteen’s The River, from which so much inspiration flowed
Battles are erupting nationwide over gay rights and other social issues, fights that have repeatedly seen big business groups and entertainment figures square off with social conservatives.
Springsteen said on Friday that North Carolina’s law was an “attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognising the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress”, and praised the people fighting the legislation.
“I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters,” Springsteen said. “As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have cancelled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10.” People who bought tickets would get refunds, Springsteen added.
It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards
Bruce Springsteen
The North Carolina law was hastily introduced last month by state lawmakers as a way to override a civil rights ordinance passed in Charlotte to allow transgender people in that city to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity. Governor Pat McCrory signed the state measure, praising it as needed “to stop this breach of basic privacy and etiquette” in Charlotte.

This law has come under considerable criticism from LGBT rights groups and a wide array of companies, including Apple, Google and American Airlines. It could also cost the state other economic opportunities in the future. The NBA suggested it was considering moving its next All-Star game – scheduled to take place in Charlotte in 2017 – because of the law.
‘A backward step’: local LGBT groups call on clubs to drop Manny Pacquiao broadcast following boxer’s anti-gay slurs
Supporters of the legislation have defended it and similar bills as common sense measures and have criticised the people unhappy with the law. The Reverend Franklin Graham, an evangelist in North Carolina, decried PayPal as hypocritical earlier this week and wrote on Facebook that lawmakers supporting the legislation should “stand strong against the attacks of this wicked agenda”.
A day before Springsteen’s announcement, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said she did not believe such a law would be necessary in her state. Also this week, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed a law that would let businesses refuse service to gay couples based on religious objections, ignoring opposition from businesses and organisations in his state.


Springsteen shows Carolina who’s ‘The Boss’ after cancelling concert over anti-discrimination laws

Stevie Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa perform onstage at Madison Square Garden. Photo: AFP

epa05250502 (FILE) A file picture dated 12 September 2013 shows US singer Bruce Springsteen crowd surfing during his concert at Movistar Arena in Santiago de Chile, Chile. According to reports on 09 April 2016, Bruce Springsteen canceled a concert in Greensboro, North Carolina, to protest the state's enactment of a law seen as discriminatory against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Springsteen was scheduled to perform in Greensboro on 10 April. EPA/FELIPE TRUEBA

Bruce Springsteen performs during The River Tour at the LA Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California, in this March 17, 2016 file photo. Springsteen cancelled a concert scheduled for this weekend in North Carolina in protest over the state's new law restricting public toilet use based on gender identity by transgender individuals. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/Files

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