Montreal-based indie-folk singer-songwriter Bells Larsen has a new album called Blurring Time set to come out in two weeks, and he was planning to head out on a quick run of US shows in June. That tour is now cancelled for a very upsetting reason. On Instagram Larsen writes, "I received an email on Tuesday from the American Federation of Musicians stating that I am no longer able to apply for a Visa because US Immigration now only recognizes identification that corresponds with one's assigned sex at birth. To put it super plainly, because I'm trans (and have an M on my passport), I can't tour in the States. I hesitate to include a 'right now' or an 'anymore' at the end of my previous sentence because -- in this sociopolitical climate -- I truly don't know which phrasing holds more truth."
In a series of tiles after that statement, Larsen goes on to talk about the "plethora of nightmares and anxiety" involved in planning US travel as a trans person, even though he was only planning to perform in blue states. He continues, "After chatting with two immigration lawyers this week and then getting that email from the AFM, it's clear to me that there is no way to move forward here."
In January, on the first day of his second presidency, Donald Trump signed an executive order telling the federal government to only recognize two biological sexes and ordering the State Department to only issue passports that "accurately reflect the holder's sex," effectively preventing trans people from having passports with their true genders. Other countries have issued advisories warning trans citizens not to travel in the US. Larsen writes, "This new policy has crushed my dreams." It seems likely that we will see similar stories in the months ahead. Here is Larsen's Instagram statement:
