Henry Rollins in 2010
Former Black Flag, State of Alert, and Rollins Band frontman Henry Rollins has penned an open letter to North Carolina governor Patrick McCrory following the signing of House Bill 2 (HB2) into law. The law has been characterized as the “transgender bathroom bill”, but expanded interpretation of the law prevents “avenues of state government from including LGBT people in previous protections.”
In the open letter, published by LA Weekly, Rollins attacks Governor McCrory while championing the action that Bruce Springsteen has taken to bring attention to the law.
Springsteen made Gov. McCrory all kinds of famous. I was being charitable using the governor’s name. The truth is that no one cares what his name is. He will be dimly remembered as the asshole who signed that fucked-up bill that embarrassed the majority of North Carolinians.
Rollins also talks about his affection for the state, and what a great place it is for young bands to tour.
Years later, I was happy to find out it was a great state in which to be a broke band on the road. Not only were there plenty of college-town venues to play in, but the people were incredibly friendly and would let you sleep on their floors.
Rollins also talked about how his approach would differ from Springsteen’s, and how it had helped the West Memphis Three:
In any case, you can’t mess with Springsteen, so if that’s the way he saw to go, that’s cool. I just love the idea of when you see a problem, you don’t leave it alone; instead, you make it your special project. After I found out about the plight of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, otherwise known as the West Memphis Three, and got involved in the effort to secure their release, I talked about the state they were trapped in, Arkansas, every day. I enjoyed firing at the state’s hull on a regular basis.
I want North Carolina to reap an LGBT whirlwind. More shows, more light, more heat, more volume — just more.
