by: JimRomenesko.com

Laurel (Miss.) Leader-Call owner Jim Cegielski says he knew he’d get some hate mail and angry calls when he decided to put a gay wedding story on the front page of his Feb. 7 issue. “The majority of people in Mississippi oppose gay marriage,” he tells me, “but we didn’t know the reaction was going to be as vicious and hateful and as widespread as it was.” (The story was about two women — one with stage four brain cancer — getting married. It was the first known gay wedding ceremony in Laurel.)