“Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 9 are clearly targeted attacks on Tennesseans who haven’t done anything wrong,” the former Drive-By Truckers musician said in the press release. In the Love Rising lineup announcement, Isbell expressed his support more clearly. “Gender-affirming healthcare for all, including our youth, is a necessity.” “Drag is not a crime,” the Tennessee native added ahead of the governor signing the bills into law. “We stand in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ family and local LGBTQIA+ orgs in this fight, not only for inclusion for our friends and family in the queer community, but for radical acceptance and empowerment for each of them.” “Once again our state has passed two regressive and unfathomably harmful bills,” Williams wrote on her Instagram Story in late February, after the Tennessee House passed legislation that would ban drag performances and gender-affirming care. “I guess that’s the way it is in this country. “I don’t think it’s a good idea what they’re doing but, you know, you just have to keep fighting for civil rights,” she continued. This is how Hitler started … just weeding everybody out.” “Equality for everybody, or nobody’s really equal. “I believe you don’t stop the fight,” noted LGBTQ ally Cyndi Lauper said of the Tennessee bills in a March interview, which was captured on video. ![]() We strongly denounce these bills and stand in /mzMROe4p圎- The B-52s Ma We, The B-52’s, are deeply concerned about the numerous new bills that promote transphobia and discrimination against transgender individuals and drag artists, which have been introduced in the United States. Keep reading to see some of the biggest musicians who are making their voices heard. The safety of our conference attendees is central to our Association and will be of paramount concern in planning future events under the Music Biz banner.” “Legislation like this threatens the safety of artists and others, and will force businesses to reconsider holding events in this state. “The music industry is built upon the work of artists, many of whom identify as trans, non-binary, genderqueer, and LGBTQ+,” it continued. “These bigoted actions are especially concerning as we believe the intentional use of vague, inflammatory language will act as a gateway to encouraging acts of violence against the LGBTQ+ community,” it read. ![]() Williams, along with Maren Morris, Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires and several others, are gathering on March 20 in Nashville to stage Love Rising, a benefit concert supporting Tennessee-based LGBTQ organizations.Įven the Music Business Association, which is based in Tennessee, has issued a statement condemning the state’s legislation. ![]() Many musicians aren’t just speaking out against the uptick in discriminatory laws - they’re also singing out. Why is this dangerous? RuPaul said it best in a March 8 Instagram video about the situation: Other than the life-threatening consequences of persecuting people based on sexuality and gender identity, the lawmakers passing such legislation are “distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on - jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school.” ![]() How Tennessee's Drag Ban Is Already Causing 'Confusion and Fear' For Live Events & Queer Artists
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