Bryan Adams has decided to cancel a concert in Mississippi over the state’s new controversial religious liberty law.
The law, which allows some private businesses and religious groups to refuse service to gay people, was passed last week.
Bryan Adams issued a statement saying he could not “in good conscience” perform in Mississippi.
The singer added he found it “incomprehensible that LGBT citizens are being discriminated against”.
Bryan Adams was due to play the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi on April 14.
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Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed HB1523 into law on April 5 amid opposition from equal rights groups and businesses.
The law offers protection for Christians who adhere to traditional views of marriage and gender roles, which Governor Phil Bryant said “protects sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions”.
The new law will take effect from July 1.
Bryan Adams said he was using his voice to “stand in solidarity with all my LGBT friends to repeal this extremely discriminatory bill”.
“Hopefully Mississippi will right itself and I can come back and perform for all of my many fans. I look forward to that day.”
Bryan Adams’s cancelation comes after Bruce Springsteen canceled a show in North Carolina last week because of a new law in that state.
Bruce Springsteen joined business groups in condemning the law which rolls back local anti-discrimination measures that protected gay and transgender people.
New tornadoes struck the southern US for a second night, raising the death toll above 20.
Six deaths were reported in Alabama and seven in Mississippi after tornadoes struck on Monday evening, although not all these fatalities were confirmed.
Several tornadoes flattened buildings, overturned vehicles and brought down utility lines on a second consecutive night of devastation.
At least 16 people died in Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma on Sunday night.
In Limestone county, Alabama, two deaths were confirmed by the coroner’s office and four deaths were reported, although unconfirmed, elsewhere in the county.
In Mississippi, a woman died when driving her car during the storm in Verona, south of Tupelo. Officials said seven people were killed in total across the state but coroners had yet to confirm that number.
The mayor of Tupelo, Jason Shelton, told CNN the damage from the storms was widespread and “devastating”. A 21:00 local time curfew was in place on Monday.
Many homes and businesses, including a new secondary school worth $14 million, were left in ruins in Vilonia after the storm (photo AP)
Power went out in much of the city as lines went down and trees were torn up by the storm, the US National Weather Service reported.
Giles Ward huddled in a bathroom with his wife and four other relatives as a tornado destroyed his brick house and overturned his son-in-law’s four-wheel-drive parked outside his home in Louisville, Winston County, Mississippi.
Meanwhile, emergency crews are continuing to search through rubble for survivors of the severe storms which struck one day earlier.
Of the 16 people who died on Sunday night, 14 of them were in the suburbs of Little Rock, Arkansas. A preliminary death toll there was 16 but it was later amended.
But the number may yet rise as crews search the wreckage of destroyed buildings.
“We’re trying to make sure everyone is accounted for,” Brandon Morris, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, told the Associated Press news agency.
Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said the storm “may be one of the strongest we have seen”.
President Barack Obama, on a trip to the Philippines, offered his deepest condolences to those affected on Sunday and said federal emergency officials would be on the ground to help.
“Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes,” he said.
Mayflower and Vilonia, two small towns in Faulkner County, appear to have borne the brunt of the damage on Sunday.
The Arkansas tornado touched down about 10 miles west of the city of Little Rock and left a 40-mile path of destruction.
It is said to have passed through several northern suburbs – including Mayflower where a witness described a twister half a mile wide crossing Interstate 40 on Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said.
Congressman Tim Griffin told Reuters news agency an “entire neighborhood of 50 homes or so” in Faulkner County had been destroyed, with many “completely gone except the foundation”.
Many homes and businesses, including a new secondary school worth $14 million, were left in ruins in Vilonia after the storm.
Mississippi authorities are investigating the death of State Representative Jessica Upshaw, who was found dead in a suspected suicide at the home of former lawmaker Clint Rotenberry, according to local officials.
The death of Republican Rep Jessica Upshaw, 53, of the 95th District in Diamondhead, was confirmed by Simpson County Coroner Terry Tutor.
The cause of her death is believed to be suicide.
Simpson County Sheriff Kenneth Lewis told WLOX that Jessica Upshaw appeared to have shot herself in the head at a home in Mendenhall, located about 30 miles southeast of Jackson, the state capital.
The home is owned by former state Rep Clint Rotenberry, according to The Clarion-Ledger newspaper.
Mississippi authorities are investigating the death of State Representative Jessica Upshaw, who was found dead in a suspected suicide at the home of former lawmaker Clint Rotenberry
The investigation has been handed over to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
No one has been arrested in the case.
Jessica Upshaw was an attorney who was first elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 2004.
She was a Republican from Diamondhead along the state’s coast. Mendenhall is about 110 miles away from her hometown.
Jessica Upshaw was not married, but did have an adult daughter who is married with a child of her own and lives in South Korea, according to the Clarion-Ledger.
Clint Rotenberry, also a Republican, served in the 77th district as a state representative from 1992 to 2007.
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant told the paper: “[My wife] Deborah and I were saddened to hear of the passing of Rep Jessica Upshaw. I have known Jessica for many years as an unselfish and dedicated public servant.
“This is a tragic loss for her family and all Mississippians, and our thoughts and prayers go out to her family during this difficult time.”
Jessica Upshaw is the fifth Mississippi lawmaker in to die in the last few months.
Joe Gardner of Batesville, died last month of a heart attack at the age of 68. Democratic Rep. David Gibbs, of West Point, died January 13.
Two Democratic state senators, Bennie Turner, of West Point, and Alice Harden, of Jackson, died in late 2012.
Clint Rotenberry did not answer his phone, and his answering machine was full.
House Minority Leader Bobby Moak describes Jessica Upshaw as a passionate champion of causes for her district and the state.
Mississippi Mayor Greg Davis, a Republican of Southaven, spent over $170,000 of city money on personal expenses including purchases at a gay lifestyle and sex shop, according to receipts.
According to Mississippi state auditor, it was an anonymous tipster who prompted a Freedom of Information request into two years “of Mr. Davis” records, discovering the expenses as well as his admittance of being gay.
“I gasped,” Greg Davis said at a press conference describing his reaction to the news of the expenses.
“It was an accounting error, book keeping error. We’ve learned our lesson, and we’ll pay back the funds and we’ll move forward,” Greg Davis assured a reporter for My Fox Memphis, which boarders the Mississippi state in Tennessee.
“While I have performed my job as mayor, in my opinion, as a very conservative, progressive individual – and still continue to be a very conservative individual – I think that it is important that I discuss the struggles I have had over the last few years when I came to the realization that I am gay,” Greg Davis announced, according to The Commercial Appeal.
Mississippi Mayor Greg Davis spent over $170,000 of city money on personal expenses including purchases at a gay lifestyle and sex shop
State Auditor Stacey Pickering has since demanded Greg Davis pay back all the money within 30 days, exactly “$170,782.28,” or submit detailed receipts of his spending to not face a civil suit.
The auditor’s office has since received $96,000 from the mayor who is also providing receipts.
According to The Commercial Appeal, among Greg Davis’ expenses were thousands at a chop house and thousands more at local liquor stores.
The auditor’s office confirmed to The Associated Press that Greg Davis also billed the $67 Priape purchase, a Canadian store that describes itself as a gay sex shop, as well to the city.
Greg Davis told The Commercial Appeal he doesn’t remember what he bought at the shop.
In 2008, Greg Davis ran unsuccessfully for Congress on a family-values platform.
Greg Davis has been married to his wife Suzann for the past 19 years, according to the city’s website, whom he shares three daughters with.
Greg Davis says he plans to take time off during the holidays to be with his family as well as, “ensure that for the next year and a half that the city continues to grow.”
He added: “I will evaluate whether I will run again as mayor at a later time.”
Amanda Price, wife of a Mississippi high school football coach was gunned down Monday night after she found a man lurking in the family house backyard.
Amanda Price’s husband, Ron, was also shot as he sprinted outside their New Albany home to help her, but he is expected to recover.
New Albany Police Chief David Grisham says the shooting happened just before 10:00 p.m. on Monday.
David Grisham said Amanda Price had gone outside to take their dog out and startled someone, who shot her in the chest when she screamed.
Hearing the screams and gunshots, Ron Price, who was inside the house, ran out to help when he was shot in the shoulder.
Amanda Price, her husband Ron and their 3-year-old daughter Molly
Ron Price, who was able to call 911 after he was shot, was treated and released early Tuesday morning from North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.
The couple’s three-year-old daughter Molly, who was inside the house at the time of the shooting, was not hurt.
New Albany Mayor Tim Kent told WTVA.com that the couple was always willing to help in the community.
Tim Kent said: “They just have a soft spot in their heart for everybody.”
Police have few clues about the killer, but believe he may be linked to a series of car burglaries in the area at about the same time as the shooting.
Chief David Grisham told Fox 13: “The only description we have at this time is approximately 6 foot, dressed in dark clothing, with a mask over his face.”
Ron Price had recently completed his fourth season as head coach for the New Albany Bulldogs.
Amanda Price was a speech pathologist in the same school district.
A $20,000 reward has been offered for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.
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