by Hannah Zeitner, junior entertainment editor

The band Against Me! recently performed in Durham, North Carolina as a form of “protest” against the state’s House Bill 2. The bill tries to police which bathrooms transgender people can use.

During the band’s performance, frontwoman Laura Jane Grace took a moment and declared “goodbye gender” before burning her birth certificate for all to see. The issue is particularly close for Grace who announced she was transgender in 2012.

Early this year, Grace was encouraged to cancel the Durham show, but she refused by tweeting: “Hell no! … I’m even more eager to play North Carolina ’cause of the bill! Let me know if there’s any activist groups that can come table the show.”

“I don’t listen to Against Me! but after hearing what the singer did, I  think she’s so brave for going on stage and doing that. It was a really big move that sent a very powerful message,” junior Amanda Leon said.
Watch the video here, and learn more about North Carolina’s House Bill 2 here.