Carson Jones, Doug Jones' oldest son, becomes a sensation in the gay press after his father's upset victory over Roy Moore in Alabama U.S. Senate race

Carson Jones, second from left

Carson Jones, the oldest son of new U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), has become a sensation in gay corners of the Web since his father's win in last Tuesday's Alabama special election. That's because Carson Jones, a graduate student at Colorado State University, is openly gay and has a strong social-media presence.

Doug Jones barely had been declared the winner over Republican Roy Moore when reports about Carson Jones started popping up at gay news sites and blogs. Word about the gay status of a senator's son quickly spread to mainstream sites, such as newnownext.com.

After earning a bachelor's degree in animal science at the University of Georgia, Carson Jones enrolled in Colorado State University’s two-year Professional Science Master’s program in zoo, aquarium and shelter management. He is in his second year with the program. Jones long has wanted to be a zookeeper, and he started volunteering at the Birmingham Zoo when he was 13 years old. He completed an internship at the Australia Zoo (home of the late Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin). From an article about Jones at colostate.edu:

Jones is passionate about zookeeping and also about clearing up misconceptions around what zoos are.

“People tend to feel strongly about zoos ­– they either support them or they don’t support them,” Jones said. Some people believe zoos exist only for human entertainment or personal pleasure, and there was a time when that was true.

“All industries grow and change over time as we learn more about these animals. Today’s zoos are all about connecting people with animals and the natural world, ideally inspiring conservation awareness and action,” he said.

As for what zookeepers do every day, Jones said, some people think “we just play with animals all day.”

Actually, caring for zoo animals is “a lot of cleaning, and a lot of diet preparation,” he said. He also enjoys engaging with zoo visitors, sharing about the animals and about conservation. “I like getting on the microphone and talking to people,” he said.

Carson Jones: Long and Hard

For now, Jones' status as the gay son of a U.S. senator seems to be overshadowing his interest in animals. One of the first sites to spotlight him last week was boyculture.com. From the site's article, titled "Meet Doug Jones's sexy gay son!":

Doug Jones, the newly minted senator from Alabama, is not only a progressive, he's also the father of a super cute gay son, Carson! Carson is a self-described southern gentleman, and a zookeeper.

Keep reading for more proof — that he's adorable, not that he's gay, he's out, guys.

Carson Jones, with former NSYNC singer Lance Bass
and his husband, Michael Turchin

A site called hometapp.com seemed even more enthused about young Mr. Jones. From its article, titled "Another Reason to Celebrate Doug Jones’ Victory: We’ll See More of His Hot Gay Son." The article is accompanied by several photos, including one where Carson Jones is wearing a shirt with the insignia, "Hard and Long." That seems to be a reference to something. I wonder what it could be?

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard that Democratic candidate Doug Jones beat homophobic, accused child molester and Republican candidate Roy Moore in last night’s special election for the Alabama U.S. Senate. But have you heard that Jones has a sexy gay son? Yep! Doug Jones’ gay son is named Carson Jones, and we’re totally infatuated with him.

He’s a self-described southern gentleman, zookeeper, gym junkie, adventurer and sushi addict. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and is currently in graduate school at Colorado State University in Zoo and Aquarium Management.

He’s bearded, has a toothy smile and a furry chest. He also owns a Romphim and enjoys cooking, so we’re basically ready to be his boyfriend or help him celebrate his dad’s recent win — whichever he’s down for.

Here's the take from queerty.com. We sought comment from Doug Jones about his suddenly famous gay son, but the senator did not respond to our queries.

What about the rest of the Jones family? This is from an article about Doug Jones' wife, Louise, at bustle.com:

The Jones' have three children — Courtney, Carson, and Christopher. Courtney graduated from Birmingham Southern College and is currently studying for her Ph.D. at the University of Alabama. She and her husband, Rip Andrews, have two daughters. Carson is also in graduate school at Colorado State University, and Christopher is a sophomore at Alabama.

Here is a YouTube video about Carson Jones: