Rocker Bryan Adams shuns Mississippi in protest of same-sex law

"I cannot in good conscience perform in a state where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation,"Adams wrote Monday on Instagram alongside a photo of a rainbow.

The Canadian singer-song writer known for such hits as "Summer of '69"and "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" had been set to play Thursday in Biloxi.

Adams wrote that the action was a show of "solidarity with all my LGBT friends."

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said last week that he signed the bill into law to "protect sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions."

Mississippi authors, including John Grisham and Donna Tartt, also added their voices Monday to the chorus of critics calling for the law's repeal.

"It is deeply disturbing to so many of us to see the rhetoric of hate, thinly veiled, once more poison our political discourse," the letter signed by 95 authors from the state said.

Adams' decision follows a similar move by Bruce Springsteen, who days ago called off a show in North Carolina over what has been labeled the "bathroom law."

The newly enacted legislation requires individuals to use bathrooms that correspond to their sex at birth, which opponents say targets transgender people.

"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," he said in a statement.

A ruling by the US Supreme Court last year made same-sex marriage legal across the country. However, several states have passed "religious freedom" bills that critics argue threaten the rights ofgay, lesbian and transgender people.
- DPA