#ally

Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds takes his fight for LGBTQ rights all the way to Capitol Hill

Dan Reynolds just upped his ally game tenfold.

The Imagine Dragons frontman recently took a trip to Washington, D.C., where he met with lawmakers about banning conversion therapy nationwide once and for all.

Reynolds was joined by Neon Trees’ Tyler Glenn and RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s Carmen Carrera. The trio met with several lawmakers, including Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, and Rep. Ted Lieu, a Vice-Chair of the Equality Caucus, at the U.S. Capitol to push for a federal ban on conversion therapy. They also spoke with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Mitt Romney, among others.

“Sadly it takes a straight man with a lot of privilege to come in as well, to actually get things done,” Reynolds said after the visit. “And I think that’s a damn shame, in 2020 something you’d think would not be necessary. But it’s just a truth of the matter.”

Related: Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds posts about health but fans are focused elsewhere

Currently, only 19 states ban conversion therapy, with Virginia set to become the twentieth state very soon. Last month, the Virginia State Senate passed a bill banning the practice. On Monday, the Virginia House of Representatives passed their version the ban. The two versions are currently being reconciled before a final bill will be sent Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk, who is expected to sign it into law.

In 2016, Reynolds and Glenn co-founded the LOVELOUD Festival to raise awareness to the issues impacting LGBTQ youth. In 2017, Reynolds started the LOVELOUD Foundation as a way to “bring communities and families together to help ignite the vital conversation about what it means to unconditionally love our LGBTQ+ youth.”

In addition to meeting with lawmakers last week, Reynolds, Glenn, and Carrera hosted a screening of the 2018 documentary Believer, which chronicles the first LOVELOUD Festival in Orem, Utah and Reynolds’ mission to push back against the Mormon Church’s discriminatory policies against LGBTQ people.

Last year, as Imagine Dragons was accepting the award for best rock artist at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, Reynolds used the entire speech to champion LGBTQ youth.

“I just want to take this moment to say that there are 34 States that have no laws banning conversion therapy,” he said. “And on top of that, 58 percent of our LGBTQ population live in those states. This can change, but it’s going to take all of us talking to our state legislators, pushing forward laws to protect our LGBTQ youth.”

Related: VIDEO: Dan Reynolds uses entire Billboard acceptance speech to speak out for queer youth

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