Five radio interviews, a TV appearance and two marriage proposals.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
When Jason Smith shared his story as a gay dairy farmer to contribute to discussions about marriage equality, he had no idea how strongly it would resonate with the public as the story was picked up by media nationwide.
After the south-west resident put his voice out there last week, he was inundated with thousands of supportive messages and friend requests on social media.
He even had to politely turn down two marriage proposals from strangers.
Mr Smith said he had been blown away by the attention, and hoped people understood what he had been getting at.
“I just want to be a normal person,” he said. “The whole idea of doing the story was to say I was a dairy farmer who paid his taxes and did everything else but because I happen to be gay I am not allowed to marry the person I want to marry.”
Mr Smith said he had received messages from gay farmers around the country – from South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland – as well as the parents of gay young people.
One Queensland farmer who was not openly gay contacted Mr Smith to say he wished he could be beside him fighting, and would one day be able to join in.
“I don’t see it as a fight,” Mr Smith said.
“Hopefully this is something that will change, and change soon.”
Mr Smith spoke out about the issue after Warrnambool City Council passed a motion supporting marriage equality.