We have the average Plano home, mow the lawn on weekends, recycle to the max, are friends with our neighbors and pick up the stray litter from our street and alley. We love our Methodist church and never miss a Sunday unless we're out of town. I've addressed the congregation on who we are and why we chose that church. In 10 years, we've yet to argue. Truly. Our home life is so calm and peaceful my vocal chords feel the strain after three or four hymns at church.

But don't confuse the contentment and serenity of our lives with weakness. We're strong in knowing who we are, in believing in ourselves and knowing a loving Creator made us. It comes with being gay.

As you can see, we're not your enemy. We're not a threat to you or your life. It may be scary just how much we're identical. We are not open to any attempt to deprive you of any of your freedoms.

We approach an election that will only restrict our personal lives and do nothing to cure this country's true, casual regard of marriage, manifested by the abysmal divorce rate. We must distinguish ourselves from the other items on the ballot. We are not land titles, reverse mortgages, board terms or business loans. We are people, humans with identical feelings and emotions as every one of you. We're not yours to force into a mold or a cage, to reflect you. We're not to be remade into your image; we were made, like you, in God's image. Over the past decades, as gays increasingly have become proudly open, many of you have come to know a gay person and realize that sexuality is out of place in defining that person. You know us as respectful humans with the same hopes and dreams and values as you, and that puts you in an uncomfortable position. Who do you take into that voting booth? The person you've learned about firsthand? Or the person others have described for you?

Ms. Ebinger erred in her article that the first Dairy Queen in Collin County was in 1960. The original Dairy Queen in McKinney stood on North Tennessee Street. My family bought it from the previous owner in 1955 and owned it until late '56. My stepfather, the owner, was named R.E. Armentrout.

It was interesting to read her article. I recently moved to Heritage Ranch in Fairview after retiring in Florida. While attending the Plano vs. Allen football game with my grandson, I had a conversation with a gentleman on this very subject. As people sometimes do, I was driving around trying to locate where exactly the Dairy Queen stood. I finally went to the beautiful McKinney library and found the address in the 1955 McKinney phone book. Small world.

I am sick of hearing about how judges should interpret the law and not legislate from the bench. Let's get one thing straight - the judiciary is the third branch of government. Judges make law. Anyone who says otherwise - including President Bush - is sadly mistaken or lying.

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