Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace to Perform in North Carolina "As a Form of Protest"

Artists including Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr have recently cancelled concerts in North Carolina in protest of a recent law—North Carolina’s House Bill 2, otherwise known as the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which prohibits transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms that do not match the “biological sex” listed on their birth certificate. Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace has announced that the band will perform their May 15 concert in Durham, N.C. After publicly stating that she would not be cancelling on Twitter last month, she has now elaborated in an interview with BuzzFeed. “I’m going to create an event around the show as a form of protest to say that despite whatever stupid laws they enact, trans people are not going to be scared,” she said. “They are not going to go away.”

Grace’s decision comes after widespread opposition to the bill. Back in March, Moogfest, which takes place in Durham, N.C., issued a statement condemning the law, saying, “we adamantly oppose this law, and any laws that enable or encourage exclusion and bigotry.” When Springsteen announced the cancellation, he wrote in a statement, “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.”

Grace commended Springsteen for taking a stance and boycotting his show, but elaborated on her reasons for performing:

“I think the real danger with HB2 is that it creates a target on transgender people specifically. When you feel targeted as a trans person, the natural inclination is to go into hiding. But visibility is more important than ever; to go there and have the platform of a stage to stand on and speak your mind and represent yourself.”

She confirmed that she’ll be talking about trans rights during the show. “An attack by a transgender person against another person in a bathroom has never been documented,” she said. “There are more incidents of straight senators having issues in bathrooms than transgender people.” 

It was suggested to me in an interview that we might cancel our May 15th show in Durham, NC because of the states HB2 bill. Hell no! (1/2)

— Laura Jane Grace (@LauraJaneGrace) March 30, 2016

I’m even more eager to play North Carolina ’cause of the bill! Let me know if there’s any activist groups that can come table the show (2/2)

— Laura Jane Grace (@LauraJaneGrace) March 30, 2016

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