Singer Bryan Adams recently canceled his Mississippi concert to protest the state's new anti-gay law, and now his good friend Billy Ray Cyrus is taking a stand with him.
The 54-year-old father of Miley Cyrus took to Facebook Monday to speak out against the new "religious freedom" bill in Mississippi and the "bathroom law" in North Carolina, which both limit the rights of the entire LGBT community.
"I would feel negligent to not speak up," Billy Ray wrote. "In light of my good friend, Bryan Adams, taking a stand and my daughter having been on the ground floor of this movement, this issue is very important to me. As a friend and a dad... I've witnessed this fight from the very beginning. I think everyone should be treated equal. We've come too far; we can't mess this up."
I would feel negligent to not speak up. In light of my good friend, Bryan Adams, taking a stand and my daughter having...
Posted by Billy Ray Cyrus on Monday, April 11, 2016
Just a few days ago, his daughter, who has been very open about her support for the LGBT community in the past, spoke out about the new laws by sharing a blog post written by Chase Strangio. In the post, Strangio, who is an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, explained why the anti-LGBT laws are wrong.
The 23-year-old singer posted a screenshot of the blog post to her Instagram writing, "go to my Twitter to learn more about taking a stand against anti-LGBT laws."
go to my Twitter to learn more about taking a stand against anti-LGBT laws
A photo posted by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on Apr 6, 2016 at 10:28am PDT
"The belief that transgender women are not women and that transgender people are less than human animate the anti-trans legislation that is now codified into law in Mississippi and North Carolina, and which is at risk of becoming law in Tennessee and elsewhere," Strangio wrote.
The Mississippi law will take effect July 1 and will block anti-discrimination rules for the LGBT community, allowing businesses and individuals to deny services to LGBT people. Supporters of the law claim that it offers protection for Christians who follow traditional views on marriage and gender roles.
Adams announced that he was cancelling his performance Sunday with a lengthy Facebook post explaining his reasoning. "I find it incomprehensible that LGBT citizens are being discriminated against in the state of Mississippi," he wrote. "I cannot in good conscience perform in a State where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation."
Mississippi has passed anti-LGBT ‘Religious Liberty’ bill 1523. I find it incomprehensible that LGBT citizens are being...
Posted by Bryan Adams on Sunday, April 10, 2016
