Members of Tasmania's LGBTQI+ community say the state has come a "very long way" in the 25 years since becoming the last jurisdiction in the country to decriminalise homosexuality.
The Greens introduced legislation to repeal the anti-homosexuality laws, which passed the Upper House on May 1, 1997 by just a single vote.
One of the key campaigners was Rodney Croome, who felt ashamed about being Tasmanian, "as did many other fair-minded Tasmanians."
"There were members of parliament who called for the death penalty [to be] reinstated. Some of them wanted the government to pay for one-way tickets for us all to go to the mainland.
"I remember one MP saying that we should all be sent to an island, which seemed ironic because we are an island, and of course, there were those horrible anti-gay rallies that were held around the state."
In 1988, he set up at Hobart's Salamanca markets with a petition calling on the Tasmanian government to change its laws.
"We put a card on a table and asked for people to sign it. We didn't think that was particularly radical, but the Hobart City Council did, it banned the stall."
Mr Croome was one of 130 people who were arrested over seven successive Saturday mornings.
The campaign to repeal the laws eventually led all the way to Australia's High Court and the United Nations.
Mr Croome said he was overwhelmed with "joy and relief" when the change finally came into effect.
"Support for decriminalisation was 15 per cent below the national average, [and when] the law changed on the first of May 1997, it was 15 per cent above the national average.
Diana Kalkoul and their partner Grace moved from Sydney to Hobart in 2019, knowing "nothing" about the state's queer community.
"It seemed quite small, but now that we've been here for a while … it is actually quite a large community of people and it's very diverse," they said.
"I have heard stories about what was happening 25 years ago.
Diana said the local community grew significantly during COVID, despite the closure of the state's only dedicated club.
"It was flourishing for two years, people had to sit and watch us enjoy our lives, we didn't have lockdowns because we were in a very privileged position of not having COVID here.
"That really helped elevate our status quite significantly."
However, they said there was still a "very long way to go".
"We need more support, more spaces. We need more businesses to be open and welcoming."
Lynn Jarvis, CEO of Working it Out Tasmania, said even though the state was late to decriminalise homosexuality, it then "came up with some great laws".
"There's a general sense of safety here because of the legal protections that we have.
Mr Croome said the state had gone from "worst to best".
"We have some of the most progressive LGBTIQ+ laws, not only in Australia but in the world. We've got some of the world's best relationship laws, gender recognition laws, anti-discrimination laws."
Among them, landmark legislation passed in 2019 making Tasmania the first Australian jurisdiction to make gender optional on birth certificates.
The state also returned a 63.6 per cent yes vote in the same-sex marriage survey in 2017 — higher than the national average of 62 per cent.
Dr Jarvis said while things were easier for the queer community now, Tasmania started at a "very low base", with stigma, isolation, harassment, abuse, and violence still prevalent.
"Research shows LGBTIQ+ Tasmanians generally have lower levels of income, less secure employment, and issues around housing," Dr Jarvis said.
"A lot of people are still afraid to come out."
Mr Croome said while there had been many significant moments over the past 25 years, there was one that stuck in his mind.
"I was approached by an elderly man when I was giving a speech in a hall in Gippsland, Victoria.
Mr Croome said the man told him: "If you can do that, if you can turn things around in Tasmania, then I shouldn't be so fearful, I can live a happy life here."
Mr Croome said that moment made him realise that "not only did we change laws, but we saved lives".
