Tom Morello Believes History Is on His Side in Efforts to Overturn Arizona Law

Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello believes the band's plans to protest against a controversial Arizona law can be victorious because of the success of previous attempts at boycotting the US state.

The band played their first hometown show in a decade in Los Angeles on Friday, July 23 as they highlighted the plight of the Sound Strike organization -- a body set-up to protest against SB 1070, a law that enables the Arizona police force to hold people suspected of engaging in illegal immigration despite lacking any proof of their status.

Speaking to Spin.com about the law, Morello said, "The economic boycott against Arizona was successful in getting them to pass Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, they were the last state in the Union to do that. It was successful in Arizona during the United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez campaign against the grape growers. And it's our hope that it will be successful now."

He continued, "We're just honoured to lend our music to trying to overthrow this awful Arizona law, as well as to help educate people what to it's about. We are against this law because it is about racial profiling, and makes an entire race of people suspects first, and people second. It's just a licence to discriminate."

As previously reported by Spinner, other artists including Cypress Hill and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst have joined the campaign with many others refusing to play any gigs in the state.