Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Wednesday dismissed criticism of the state’s new “religious freedom” law from Canadian musician Bryan Adams, who canceled a show in the state over the law that allows businesses to deny services to LGBT people.
“All of a sudden we have one guy from the 1980s that canceled a concert and we all want to talk about that. It is interesting, the media says ‘Y’all ought to be dealing with all these important issues and not some issue about someone’s deeply held religious beliefs,'” Bryant told Jackson, Mississippi, television station WAPT.
He suggested that Adams only canceled his show for attention.
“I often wonder if people aren’t taking advantage of that type of thing. You haven’t been heard from in a long time, maybe you’re dropping out of the entertainment business and all of a sudden you think it’s a pretty good way of getting attention,” Bryant said.
The governor argued that the law is not discriminatory, comparing it to a religious freedom law in New York.
“It simply says the government cannot discriminate against people of faith or religious organizations, which is the same law — if I can get anyone to look at that – that Gov. Cuomo signed into law in New York in 2011,” he said.
Though, Bryant acknowledged that the Mississippi law is “expanded to people who have deeply held religious beliefs, only in the area of marriage.”
