Last week, Chris Gladfelter sent several legislators an e-mail, asking them to vote against a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution banning gay marriages.

“I just wanted to make myself heard,” said Gladfelter, a Lawrence man who is gay.

All but one lawmaker replied with gently worded responses, thanking Gladfelter for taking the time to make himself heard.

The exception was Sen. Kay O’Connor, an Olathe Republican known for not mincing words. In her response, O’Connor wrote:

“Unfair discrimination against people of color or people with disabilities, etc., is certainly to be rejected. However, a choice to give into one’s lust and not practice self-control is not a disability, it is a lifestyle choice.

“Historically,” O’Connor wrote, “any state or nation that gives in to the lusty perversions of the homosexual lifestyle, soon sees its own demise.

“Like it or not, we are a nation founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs and it (our Constitution) has served us well for over two hundred years.”

O’Connor on Tuesday confirmed sending the e-mail.

“It’s a form letter I put together,” she said.

Gladfelter said he appreciated O’Connor’s frankness but was appalled by her views on homosexuality.

“What she wrote epitomizes the popular view of those who don’t understand, who believe that being gay is a choice and that certain behaviors are wrong and can be corrected,” Gladfelter said.

“Homosexuality is not a choice. It’s who a person is,” he said. “It’s not a lifestyle, it’s how you’re born. The only choice is whether to accept who you are or hide in the proverbial closet, hiding from people who fear you or discriminate against you.”

In a second e-mail to O’Connor, Gladfelter wrote that most scientists agree that “human beings do not make a conscious decision to become either heterosexual or homosexual.”

O’Connor said she’s heard that before.

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“I don’t think that’s a scientifically provable fact; it’s not like gravity, which is an established fact,” she said.

She compared homosexuality to “addictive behaviors such as alcohol, drugs and gambling — there’s a whole long list. Let’s say a person has an inclination to set fires. That’s aberrant behavior, but I don’t think we should let people go around setting fires because they feel like it.”

O’Connor said she knew her opinions were sure to offend her gay constituents.

“This is my stand,” she said. “I don’t want to argue about it because, frankly, I’m not going to be swayed. But do I hate them? No, I do not.”

A resolution calling for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages passed the Kansas House last week. A similar proposal awaits hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee. As of yet, no hearings are scheduled.

“I think we’ve got the 27 votes we need to get it passed,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler. “I’m assuming it’ll get out of committee.”

Sixteen senators have signed on as co-sponsors, Huelskamp said.

Sen. Mark Buhler, R-Lawrence, isn’t one of them. “It’s not my deal,” he said. “We seem to have gotten along for quite a while without a constitutional amendment. There’s lots of people in this world. We have to find a way to make room for all of them.”

— Staff writer Scott Rothschild contributed to this report.