Belinda Carlisle plans to go ahead with a concert in Mississippi on Saturday (23 April) but is making her feelings known about the state’s new anti-LGBTI law and the governor who signed it.

The Go-Go’s singer, who has gay son, says she nearly canceled the show but has decided to proceed after talking with various LGBTI groups.

In a direct Facebook letter to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, Carlisle stated: ‘Nearly 30 years ago, I released a song titled “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.” I was proud of the message of that song then and I continue to be proud of it today. Unfortunately, Governor Bryant, you and those around you are making life hell on earth for many Mississippians.’

Carlisle’s only child, James Duke Mason, is openly gay and is an actor and political activist.

‘As the very proud mother of a gay child I can’t imagine anything less Christian than using the law as a weapon against others,’ she wrote..

‘Because of my career as a performer and the privilege that has brought to our family, my son will be all right, but the pain you’re causing LGBTQ Mississippians is devastating, especially the transgender folks and LGBTQ people of color who will be most directly impacted by these attacks.’

it is my call, as a mother, that you bring a little bit of heaven to Mississippi by repealing HB 1523.’

The ‘Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act,’ passed the State Senate last month by a vote of 31-17 after just over two hours.

Unswayed by the backlash over similar bills in North Carolina and Georgia, Bryant signed it into law on 5 April.

HB 1523 is considered by LGBTI activists to be the worst of the anti-gay bills currently under consideration by state legislatures in the US.

It legally protects religious institutions should they decide to not recognize the legality of same-sex marriages or refuse to place children with qualified, deserving LGBTI families.

It also protects state employees if they refuse to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple and sanctions the use of ‘conversion therapy’ to ‘cure’ LGBTI people.