Openly trans musician and queer icon Laura Jane Grace announced in an interview this week that she will still perform in North Carolina as an act of protest despite the state's recent anti-queer legislation.
While other musicians, such as Bruce Springsteen, have cancelled planned concerts in the Southern state over House Bill 2, Grace sees more power in visibility and active protest against those in positions of power.
“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. They are not going to go away," Grace told Buzzfeed.
The trans musician went on to say that visibility as an act of protest is more important than ever at times like this.
“I think the real danger with HB2 is that it creates a target on transgender people specifically,” she continued. “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.”
Grace, who credited music and touring as having saved her life in a previous interview with The Huffington Post, is the latest to call for protest against House Bill 2 in the Tar Heel state. Over 90 big-name business leaders have taken a stand against the anti-queer bill, and comedian Joel McHale recently donated all of the profits from his Durham, North Carolina show to the city's local LGBTQ center.
Non-profit Planting Peace also installed a billboard last week near Hendersonville, NC calling out the state's puritanical stance on queer rights.
Want to hear more from Grace? Check out this interview she did with Huffington Post Queer Voices in December 2015.
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