Alabama Senator Doug Jones on His Gay Son’s Influence, Instagram, and Coming Out

Alabama Senator Doug Jones on Tuesday became the 46th co-sponsor of the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to current civil rights laws.

In a new meeting with GLASS (Gays, Lesbians & Allies Senate Staff) attended by the Washington Blade, Jones talked about his commitment to LGBT equality, which helped him win the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions.

Jones called the Equality Act “very, very important” though he admitted the bill’s chances in the current Congress were slim: “If that will happen, it will rank right up there with the Obergefell decision. I’m a co-sponsor of that. I’d like to see it happen this Congress. I doubt it will.”

jones also talked about the importance of data collection on hate crimes.

He also talked about his gay son, a student at Colorado State University whose Instagram account gained a following during Jones’s run for Senate.

Carson Jones / Instagram

“We’ve all seen it,” quipped Jones of the account, which features the occasional shirtless selfie, along with photos of animals (he’s a zookeeper), and his travels.

Jones talked about the influence his son has had on his views: “Has it affected me? Absolutely. Everything affects you, but obviously a child affects you more than anything else. I’m happy to do that, I’m happy to be there to defend him — when he can be defended, as we always say, when he can be defended.”

Jones added that other experiences such as “a probate judge in Jefferson County whom we defended when Roy Moore tried to shut him down giving marriage licenses” have also affected him.

The Washington Blade also asked Jones about the experience of having Carson come out to him, if there’s been a shift in LGBT rights attitudes in Alabama, and the transgender military ban. Check out the rest of Chris Johnson’s interview HERE.

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