For Cairns resident Andrew Wheatland, the same-sex marriage postal survey is not just about getting married.
Living in a regional area, it’s also about affirmation within a small community.
“If we get a 'Yes' result it will be a really strong message to everyone who lives in regional areas this is validation of who you are," he told SBS World News.
Mr Wheatland says he doesn’t have aspirations to wed yet - “I don’t even have a partner,” he says - but having the choice is important.
But he's frustrated by the current discourse around the campaign.
“I think if the [survey] question was rephrased to, ‘How comfortable are you with gay people’, you’d get almost the same statistics back,” Mr Wheatland said.
“I feel the discussion through what’s been shown on TV so far has been, ‘Oh, gay people are weird because they wear dresses sometimes’."
Members from Cairns' LGBT Alliance making their presence and message felt. Source: Andrew Wheatland
'Visibility is low'
Mr Wheatland relocated from Melbourne to Cairns three years ago but it was an experience a year into the move which shocked him.
He was walking with another man when a heckler drove past and yelled out homophobic comments.
"I was so scared and I ran," he said.
"I've never experienced that before."
Mr Wheatland said while the region’s community of LGBTI people is small, so too is their public visibility.
The aspiration for some was to "meld into" straight society, he said.
"I saw gay men but who - I wouldn't say ashamed of their orientation - but there was a little bit of, 'We're not going to talk about it because it’s not important'.
"But at the same time, I saw homophobia happening in the streets."
He said he tried “disguising” himself into straight society, but that took its toll.
"For those of us who can’t meld into straight society we can’t go under the radar. We have no choice but to be visible. Some of us don’t have that luxury."
Source: Andrew Wheatland/SBS World News
Local campaigning
Mr Wheatland is now part of advocacy group Cairns LGBT Alliance which has been campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote in the postal survey.
For the past couple of weeks the group has been phone-calling, doorknocking, letterboxing and waving placards at drivers.
Frustrated by the lack of local media coverage, the group produced their own video calling for a ‘Yes’ vote.
Filmed on a beach, the video shows the group of volunteers spelling out the word 'Yes', and featuring what they claim to be the country’s biggest LGBTI rainbow flag.
“There’s no-one telling our story. So we decided social media is something we can do.”
