You'd think a county that's apparently free of gays would explode into an orgy of demolition derbies and bad hair, but that's not what CNN's John Sutter found when he took the cameras to Franklin County, Mississippi. Instead, John found that the story in the county where zero LGBT people were counted in the last census is much more complex than one might imagine.

Check out John's exploration of Franklin County's gay scene after the break.

Updated Tuesday at 5:01 p.m. PST

Murdered gay mayoral candidate Marco McMillian's murder may have been the result of "gay panic." That's at least according to The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. 

See what they have to say after the jump.

World-changing news out of Mississippi where doctors have announced that a child born HIV positive was effectively cured of the disease 29 days after birth. 

The Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum is receiving flak today for discriminating against a same-sex couple that planned to rent its Masonic Hall for a commitment ceremony. Details follow. 

We're super excited about Lance Bass's new documentary, Mississippi: I Am, which screened today at Outfest in Los Angeles!

It's not only because we're still pressed over all things NSync* (though seriously guys, a small reunion tour in a few major cities would kill NO ONE), we're primarily excited because it's shining a light on the stories of young people growing up LGBT in a small town and in a less than "progressive" state.

While "it gets better" (hopefully) once you make your way to New York, LA, San Francisco, etc. it's important to share the stories of those that aren't in these major cities because, guess what, if we share those stories it might get better there too!

Check out what Lance has to say about Mississippi:...

Mississippi state Rep. Andy Gipson has forgotten about a little thing Americans have called "separation of church and state" by basically giving his constituents (a.k.a. his bosses) the middle finger. Instead of caring what his diverse constiuency thinks, Gipson announced via Facebook that the only "opinion" he will obey is God's. (Gipson's interpretation of the Christian God, in case you didn't get where we were going with this.)

It gets way better, errr, worse from there, so follow the jump and catch a ride on today's crazy train!

The Mississippi gay and lesbian community barely made it the distance of a proper high heel race this morning when they planned a rally in the state’s capital, Jackson, to bring attention to the need for equal rights in a state notorious for discrimination against gays.  While the organizers had applied for the appropriate permit to march in the city, the police shut them down before the rally could even start, citing that permit had been denied due to safety reasons. So was safety really the factor in the shut down soriee? More after the jump.

When Southaven, Mississippi Mayor Greg Davis was forced out of the closet last week following some revealing financial records he unknowingly lengthened the list of American states with openly-gay elected officials to 48. 

Another day, another conservative republican who's built a career on "family values" has been forced out of the closet by gay scandal. This time, it's Southaven, Mississippi Mayor Greg Davis joining the ever growing ranks of self-hatingly-gay right-wingers. Details follow. 

Updated Tuesday, 3:15 p.m. PST

Thanks to a reader's tip (thanks, Zach!), we're able to offer up this video testimony about the no-show Westboro Baptist Church. Click here to see it.

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Only powerful hackers and masses of wide-winged angels have been able to block out the Westboro "Baptist Church"'s message of hateful lunacy in the past. But a town in Mississippi has discovered a new affordable and incredibly efficient method to keep the crazy under wrap. So what is it?

The Fulton, Mississippi school district come to an agreement with the ACLU and will pay Constance McMillen $35,000 in damages for discrimination. The district has also agreed to adopt a non-discrimination policy to ensure its GLBT students don't encounter the same homophobic treatment Constance was subjected to.

A statement from the now nationally-known teen read, "I'm so glad this is all over. I won't ever get my prom back, but it's worth it if it changes things at my school.”

This is exactly why Constance has been crowned Grand Marshal of a few of the summer’s Pride parades and is quickly becoming the gay voice of her generation.

Congratulations, Constance!

Update:

While Constance was appearing on Ellen, apparently parents from her school were organizing a private prom—and she isn't invited. Bullshit!

The school district also filed briefs stating that the prom was canceled in an effort to settle the "very explosive" issue regarding the district's ban on same-sex dating. Double bullshit! How can a school board have any say in who the students can and can not date?!

Constance McMillen, the brave Mississippi high schooler at the center of a prom controversy after she asked to take her girlfriend as her date, found herself far away from the bigotry of her school as she was a guest on Ellen. Check out her interview and special surprise below.