Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace kicked off her concert in Durham, North Carolina, last night by burning her birth certificate onstage in front of a sold out crowd — an act of protest against the state's discriminatory HB2 Bill.
I guess gender really is over since @LauraJaneGrace said goodbye to gender! #genderisover
The House 2 Bill requires transgender people to use public restrooms in state-run buildings that match the assigned gender on their birth certificate.
In a video recorded and uploaded to Twitter by a concert goer, you can hear Grace wave and say, "Goodbye, gender," as she lights the document on fire.
Kathryn Wymer, the North Carolina local who recorded the video that's now being widely circulated, told BuzzFeed News there was a lot of excitement in the air before Grace took the stage. "When Laura came out on stage and announced she would burn her birth certificate, it was unexpected and emotionally cathartic."
The singer, who publicly came out as transgender in 2012, had announced earlier this month she would not cancel her scheduled appearance in North Carolina as a “form of protest.”
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)
After North Carolina lawmakers passed the controversial bill in March, many high-profile performers canceled their events within the state, including Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams. North Carolina Governor Patrick McCrory sued the federal government for challenging HB2 earlier this month, after which the Department of Justice responded with its own suit.
In an interview with BuzzFeed News last month, Laura Jane Grace said, "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."
“I will definitely be speaking about trans rights on stage,” Grace said.
