Jonathan Van Ness Just Hung Out With Nancy Pelosi And They've Got A Plan

The "Queer Eye" star and the House speaker met on Capitol Hill to discuss the Equality Act and taking down discrimination against LGBTQ people.
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“Queer Eye” star Jonathan Van Ness strutted his stuff on Capitol Hill on Thursday, joining forces with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to discuss the Equality Act.

The Equality Act would extend nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ individuals in credit, education, employment, housing, federal financial assistance, jury service and public accommodations.

The bill would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of already protected classes.

Van Ness, who recently publicly came out as HIV positive, first shared a video of himself cat-walking in the Capitol, explaining in his caption that he’d met with the House speaker to talk Equality Act, living with HIV and access to PrEP (an HIV preventative medication):

He then shared a longer post picturing the two of them arm in arm, urging his followers to stand up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and apply pressure to GOP senators to bring the Equality Act up for a Senate vote:

Pelosi introduced the Equality Act on March 13. The House passed the legislation in May. It has not yet been brought to the Senate floor.

In August, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to essentially legalize anti-gay discrimination in the workplace, arguing in an amicus brief that the federal laws on employer discrimination in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were not intended to protect individuals from being fired based on their sexual orientation.

Pelosi met earlier this year with Van Ness and three of his “Queer Eye” co-stars as well as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), to talk policy and promote the bill.

On Thursday, Pelosi shared her own image of herself and Van Ness warmly holding hands on a balcony, thanking him for bringing his voice to the fight:

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