South Texas elderly couple tired of living on 'Gay Drive' loses battle with city to rename street

Gay Drive is a dead end. Gay Drive is a dead end. Photo: KRGV/courtesy Photo: KRGV/courtesy Image 1 of / 83 Caption Close South Texas elderly couple tired of living on 'Gay Drive' loses battle with city to rename street 1 / 83 Back to Gallery

After more than 40 years of living at their current residence, an elderly South Texas couple decided they didn’t want to own a home on “Gay Drive,” so they petitioned city officials for a street name change and lost.

Mel and Maria Villarreal told ValleyCentral.com they are pleased with their home and neighborhood but have grown to dislike scribbling down the word “gay” as their street name on address lines.

"The word 'gay' used to be a word that the meaning was being jolly, being happy, and now they've added another meaning to it and they define themselves as 'gay people'" Mel Villarreal told the website. "I don't have anything against gay people, it's just that it has that meaning.”

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They managed to muster up 11 signatures for their petition asking the city to change the name from “Gay Drive” to “Los Unicos Street,” an ode to Mel Villarreal’s former Tejano group, but it wasn’t enough to sway the Pharr City Commission. It was struck down by a 6-1 vote in a November meeting because a name change could hamper emergency services, according to ValleyCentral.com.

The Villarreals are not taking “no” for an answer, they told the site of their plans to ask for another name change, even if that means settling for a merge of “gay” and “Los Unicos.”

It's unclear whether they were born on "Gay Drive" or if they chose to move there.

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