Ricky Martin weighed in on the fierce debate in Puerto Rico over a bill allowing government employees to avoid serving certain constituents on religious grounds and soon after, the islands governor decided to kill the measure.

The singer, who was born in Puerto Rico , published an open letter on Thursday denouncing the measure as a hate bill that projects us to the world as a backwards country.

As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, Martin wrote in a statement on his site .

The same day, Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossell announced that he was asking legislators to drop the bill, tweeting in Spanish that instead of reaching a consensus on a basis of mutual respect, it provokes the division of our people.