Plumber decorates his work van in stickers to show support for his gay son
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An Australian dad has plastered his car in marriage equality stickers to support his gay son.
Geoff Thomas is a retired plumber, Vietnam veteran and loving dad of a gay son named Nathan.
Since Nathan came out 12 years ago Geoff has supported his son and advocated for marriage.
Now he’s taking ‘spreading the message’ a bit further – by covering his utility car in pro-marriage equality stickers.
‘I was conditioned to be homophobic, and then one day my son comes out to me,’ he told BuzzFeed.
‘I had to ask myself the question – what is it about gays that I didn’t like? After that, I decided it was unfounded fear, ignorance and prejudice.
‘Then I came to the view that my son wasn’t equal in law and that really got up my nose, so I became a very strong advocate for marriage equality.’
Now he’s driving around in a car decked out in stickers, including those representing Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
It also features the slogan ‘every man and his dog supports marriage equality’, a picture of Geoff and his dog, and the order for people to call their MP and Senator.
He normally spends a lot of time driving around Sydney, but Geoff said he wants his message to be seen by more people.
So he’s going on a road trip, covering Melbourne, Mount Gambia, and the Reiverina region to show his support and speak to as many people as possible.
‘To me it’s a civil rights issue. It’s got nothing to do with religion, nothing to do with gay people having babies,’ he said.
‘In the 12 years I’ve been advocating for this, I’m yet to hear a reasonable argument against it.’
For the curious, Geoff is documenting his trip on his Twitter account.
So far, he has already met a number of insipiring people who all shared their own message about marriage equality.