Pearl Jam are in the midst of touring along the East Coast, but on Monday (April 18) they made the announcement that they would not be playing Wednesday's show (April 20) in Raleigh, N.C. as a way of taking a stand against the state's HB2 legislation. During a performance Monday night in Hampton, Va., Eddie Vedder spoke more in depth about the decision to do so and their reasons for taking this action instead of other alternative forms of making a statement.

The HB2 legislation seeks to make it to where transgender people are forced to use the gender identified public restroom that matches with what their birth certificate says they are. The only exceptions are if the person has taken legal or surgical steps to change their gender notation. Pearl Jam are the latest of several high profile acts to take a stand against the legislation by boycotting shows in the state.

Vedder told the crowd, "We had to make a real tough call about what we would do about the situation in North Carolina. Because they have a law there that broadly discriminates against a whole group of people ... It was a hard process because we thought we could still play and make things right and we could fortify all the people on the ground working to repeal this despicable law."

The singer spoke of the initial idea of playing the show and giving the money to LGBT organizations, but felt that wasn't strong enough of a message. "The reality is there is nothing like the immense power of boycotting and putting a strain and it's a shame because people are going to affected that don't deserve it but it could be the way that ultimately is gonna affect change, so again, we just couldn't find it in ourselves in good conscience to cross a picket line when there was a movement."

Vedder's entire statement on the matter can be read below or seen and heard in the player above:

We had to make a real tough call about what we would do about the situation in North Carolina. Because they have a law there that broadly discriminates against a whole group of people. And I can't tell from here if you are booing North Carolina, if you're booing us for having to decide that we are not gonna play there. I would understand that too.
It was a hard process because we thought we could still play and make things right and we could fortify all the people on the ground working to repeal this despicable law.
We thought we could take the money and give it to them and still play the show, but the reality is there is nothing like the immense power of boycotting and putting a strain and it's a shame because people are going to affected that don't deserve it but it could be the way that ultimately is gonna affect change, so again, we just couldn't find it in ourselves in good conscience to cross a picket line when there was a movement so…
So we apologize to those in Raleigh, we apologize to those who are going to Raleigh, we apologize to the locals who probably believe in the same things that we do. They have a reason to be pissed, and we're pissed off too. But we gotta be pissed off at the right people and get them to change their minds because they made a mistake, a big mistake and they can fix it.
So tonight we play this one for all the soldiers in the LGBT community.

After the speech, Vedder and the band launched into the song "I Am a Patriot" by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Steven Van Zandt. It should also be noted that Springsteen is among the artists that have also decided to boycott North Carolina over the HB2 legislation.

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