It was a short-lived victory for gay rights groups a few weeks ago after concert promoters AEG Live & Live Nation canceled several concerts in large cities by Buju Banton, a performer who gruesomely calls for killing gays in the lyrics of his most well-known song, “Boom Bye Bye.” Some mainstream media outlets wrongly reported that the entire tour was canceled.

But Banton’s Gargamel label recently announced that the tour was on with more than 30 cities booked. His MySpace Music page lists canceled shows as TBD, indicating he’s seeking out other venues. In Philadelphia, the first city in the tour, the concert was initially canceled, but then the promoter and venue agreed to have the show anyway.

To counter the tour, San Diego gay rights activist Syd Stevens launched http://cancelbujubanton.wetpaint.com/ over the Labor Day weekend. The site not only gives updated information about Banton’s tour and how to contact concert venues to protest, it also aims to counter myths peddled by Banton’s business allies.

“I felt it was necessary to create a centralized information clearing house on the web, like we did for the nationwide anti-Prop 8 Day of Decision protests. I want to empower local activists to post their letters, organize protests and boycotts and remain unified nationally,” Steven said. “Many people don’t know who Buju is. Those who do likely know about his hate lyrics, but they don’t seem to know he was also involved in an armed assault on six gay men in Jamaica.”

While a Jamaican court acquitted Banton of the attack, GLBT activists have a great degree of skepticism about the kind of justice that gay victims could get in a country notorious for its violent homophobia. Gay sex is punishable in Jamaica by up to ten years in prison. When Jamaica’s foremost gay rights campaigner Brian Williamson was murdered in a hate crime in 2004, a Human Rights Watch researcher who went to the murder scene reported that a mob had gathered and was celebrating the murder by chanting the chorus Banton’s “Boom Bye Bye.”

“Let’s just say that the gay victims in Banton’s 2006 trial probably got as fair a shake as Emmett Till got in the old U.S. South,” said Andy Thayer, co-founder of Chicago’s Gay Liberation Network (www.GayLiberation.net).

Pro-gay protesters accuse Banton’s publicists of trying to resuscitate the tour by launching a disinformation campaign, falsely claiming that the singer no longer performs his infamous “Boom Bye Bye” and hinting that Banton no longer harbors violent attitudes against gays. But as gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell notes, “Banton still performs this song, and it is still on sale via compilation albums. He is still making money out of this murder music. He denies that he still performs this song, but he does.”

For several years Tatchell has been a leader in the struggle against so-called “Murder Music.” In conjunction with the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-sexuals and Gays, Jamaica’s leading GLBT group, Tatchell developed the Reggae Compassionate Act, a pledge whereby former performers of music that advocates violence against gays could publicly disavow the music and pledge to no longer promote violence. As evidence of Buju Banton’s continuing duplicity, Tatchell and other activists note that Banton signed the Reggae Compassionate Act in 2007, but then later claimed to have never signed it.

Locally, members and friends of the GLBT community will protest this Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. outside the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, where Banton is scheduled to perform.

At this time, the protest will target Banton, not the Belly Up Tavern.

“In working with Belly Up representatives, we have concluded that they are supportive of the LGBT community,” Stevens said. “While they have declined requests to cancel Banton’s concert, our disagreement with them is not just about the unacceptability of Banton’s past anti-gay performances but also about whether Banton has indeed renounced such performances and stopped performing such material.”

Belly Up management contends that Banton has changed his ways. While local activists disagree on that point, the Belly Up has offered to use its influence to ask the music industry to closely monitor Banton. The Belly Up has further promised to never book Banton again should he perform anti-gay material.

If the Belly Up is true to its word, this approach could have an impact that is much broader than a single concert.

“We have decided to give it a chance and are confident that Belly Up management is working with us in good faith, however, if our confidence proves to be misplaced, we reserve the right to take future action to hold the Belly Up Tavern accountable,” Stevens said.

The http://cancelbujubanton.wetpaint.com/ Web site has a page for each city on the tour with local contact information for its letter writing and phone campaign. For more information, contact sydstevens@gayliberation.net.

– Staff Report