It’s hard out there for an LGBT Southerner. Amid improving but still lagging legal rights and cultural acceptance, gay Atlanta and our Southern brethren can use every ‘90s boy band member we can get. Enter Lance Bass and his groom-to-be.

The former N*Sync-er and his fiancé Michael Turchin, both Mississippi-bred, have thrown their celebrity behind Southerners for the Freedom to Marry, the movement that made a big splash in Atlanta last month when it kicked off a multi-state campaign with Mayor Kasim Reed’s passionate backing. The multi-state effort hits close to home for the couple, Bass says in the video above.

“People really do support gay marriage,” Bass says. “They really do. I mean, we're here. Our feet are planted here in Mississippi and we can tell you by experience that there's tons of support down here. It's just that confusion.

“I think everyone down here deserves that freedom to marry. That freedom to love who you want to love. And that's much supported down here.”

Of course, not everyone is on the bandwagon. Even as times change, the South still sucks on gay marriage and other LGBT issues. Some national funds are bailing on the South, according to the GA Voice. Good thing we have this campaign, and at least we're tops in gay male porn.