PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Most states don't recognize gay marriage - but now Hallmark does.
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(Photo: AP Images / Orlin Wagner)In this file photo, Cynthia Musick picks from a line of cards at Hallmark Cards Inc. headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., Feb. 6, 2007. -
(Photo: AP Images / Hallmark)This photo provided by Hallmark shows a same-sex wedding greeting card. Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage.
The nation's largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards - featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. "Two hearts. One promise," one says.
Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay "marriage." A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions.
The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure.
"It's our goal to be as relevant as possible to as many people as we can," Hallmark spokeswoman Sarah Gronberg Kolell said.
Hallmark's largest competitor, American Greetings Corp., has no plans to enter the market, saying its current offerings are general enough to speak to a lot of different relationships.
Hallmark started offering "coming out" cards last year, and the four designs of same-sex "marriage" cards are being gradually released this summer and will be widely available by next year. No sales figures were available yet.
"When I have shopped for situations like babies or weddings for gay friends I have good luck in quirky stores," said Kathryn Hamm, president of the Web site gayweddings.com.
"But if you are just in a generic store ... the bride and groom symbol or words are in most cards," she said. "It becomes difficult to find some that are neutral but have some style."
The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates that more than 85,000 same-sex couples in the United States have entered into a legal relationship since 1997, when Hawaii started offering some legal benefits to same-sex partners.
It estimates nearly 120,000 more couples will marry in California during the next three years - and that means millions of potential dollars for all sorts of wedding-industry businesses.
Hallmark, known more for its Midwest mores than progressive greetings, has added a wider variety lately. It now offers cards for difficulty getting pregnant or going through rehab.
It pulled a controversial card that featured the word "queer" in the punch line after it was criticized by some customers and gay magazine The Advocate last year. At any given time, Hallmark has 200 different wedding cards on the market, including some catering to interracial or inter-religious marriages and blended families.
The Greeting Card Association, a trade group, says it does not track how many companies provide same-sex cards but believes the number is expanding.
"The fact that you have someone like Hallmark going into that niche shows it's growing and signals a trend," said Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the association.
Rob Fortier, an independent card maker who runs his company, Paper Words, out of New York, added same-sex wedding cards to his mix after thinking about what he would want to receive.
"A lot of people think a gay greeting card needs a rainbow on it," Fortier said. "I don't want that."
But for some time, it was difficult to even find the words for what anyone wanted to say, he said.
His first card poked fun at the challenge. On the outside it featured lines that had been scratched out: "Congratulations on being committed!", "Congratulations on being unionized!" and, finally, "Congratulations on being domestically partnered!" The inside wished the couple congratulations on choosing to be together forever.
"It really comes down to language," he said.
John Stark, one of the three founders of Three Way Design in Boston, which makes gay-themed cards for occasions from adoption to weddings, has several new designs sketched out and ready.
But he has hesitated adding more wedding cards to his mix until after the November election, when California voters will decide a constitutional amendment that would again limit marriage to a man and a woman in the state.
"What is scary is to produce a marriage line and then November comes and it's recalled, then we have thousands of dollars of inventory waiting," he said.
The gay-friendly business can be challenging, companies said.
Hamm said although she has found many vendors willing to work with her company, some have asked to be removed from the Web site because of hate mail or some other backlash.
Hallmark says all of its stores can choose whether they want to add the latest offerings.
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Yes, I am familiar with centuries of anti-Semitism by the religious people of Europe which made the Holocaust possible.
prophet "I have heard and read about all the "atrocities" that religious people have done over the centuries. But not once have I ever heard of a Christian doing anything of the sort."
So perhaps you are not familiar with centuries of anti-Semitism by the Christians of Europe which made the Holocaust possible.
"one person prays, two worship, three look for a fourth to convert or kill."
And where do you get your information? I'd like to check it out.
igh
i could certainly accept that. faith is one of the most precious qualities that we humans can process. when you stand up, after quiet reflection and say this is what i believe. no matter how strange it may sound to everyone else i will stand beside you and support you.
organized religion is one of the most ugly and murderous aspects of our history.
but when you take out your wallet and give money to others to promote what you have discovered you have opened a box that is overflowing with some very nasty results.
organized religion has been a curse on faith. it is time for everyone to dump the hired guns in trash and sorry to say that includes the priests and good reverends.
one person prays, two worship, three look for a fourth to convert or kill.
motives for power is why we follow Christ Jesus?!?!?!
no way hosey, we follow Jesus because we love him. And God has all the power he works Through us. Just like that, that simple. There's more to type but accept that bite and chew on it. You'll find understanding there. When we submit to God in Jesus the Christ, we are Born Again. A new life in Jesus the old is gone with its fleshly desires. Now we walk according to the Spirit of God and indwelt by him, Born Again! Accept the Salvation of God in Jesus, its so wonderful to see as God does.
all forms of religion. hmmm seems to me as if there were two, both christian pick or die and millions did. sometimes just because they were in the way of organized religion working out the details. just like now. christians are addicted to power and it is a historical fact.
make you a deal i won't tell you what to leave at the door if you won't either.
Wow, dongard. From what I've read of the 30 year war it resulted from people trying to accept all forms of religion and then tell people how and where they could worship. You'll find Wikipedia has that info.
Sounds like what the Gay movement is trying to do by forcing people through the courts to believe and practice a faith they don't believe in.
Thanks for pointing out that what is going on in CA with Christians is just like what forced the 30 year war. Maybe the anti-Christ attitude people will learn from history and stop telling Christians what they can and cannot believe and stop telling Christians to leave their beliefs at the door when they go to work.
*does his happy dance*
dongard, you dont get it at all. The True Servents of Christ the Children of God fight with Truth and Love and Self Sacrifice as our Lord Jesus did. This is how we get Victory!! We never suffer defeat when we follow Christ because TRUTH cannot ever be defeated!!
2Corinthians 10:3 It is true that we live in the world, but we do not fight from worldly motives.
2Co 10:4 The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments;
2Co 10:5 we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.
how comforting to know that everyone who is a christian could not have done wrong and that everyone who is not a christian has done wrong simply because they can be grouped into a class or an identity. that is precisely how your fellow christians murdered hundreds of millions of your fellow humans. christians have killed a significant percentage of the people who have ever lived on this planet. for just a small starter there are 30 million dead from the 30 years war in germany. even to this day, there are villages that stand an empty witness to the hate of the faith.
I have heard and read about all the "atrocities" that religious people have done over the centuries. But not once have I ever heard of a Christian doing anything of the sort.
But, then, only those who know the difference between Christianity and religion will know what I mean.
dongard said:
"...yet you provide no defense other than an imagined afterlife for a few select who pass tests that only certain people administer."
Tests?? What tests? There's only one test and it's as easy as writing your name at the top of the page. To proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord and that only through can we attain salvation and forgiveness of our sins.
Anything else, any other laws or rules or "tests," are things that we do out of love for Christ!
dongard said:
"lets start out very simply. do you deny or agree that christians, whether or you agree with their idea of faith have murders millions of people. "
well, Christians do not murder.
Next there are those who say they are of the church of Christ but are apostate. they follow the carnal ways and no not God. Jesus said to be Harmless as Doves and Wise as Serpants. So theres yer answer.
Mat 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
"Do you happen to remember who posted a"
I remember the post but it was gigabytes ago. Didn't it start back around the crusades? Keep in mind, the 'Arab' nations are the son's of Ishmael who make Israel and thus Christianity their enemy. (Thanks Abraham.)
It's nothing but a 4000 year old family feud.
I have seen the argument many times that Christian have instigated many wars and killed many people when the fact of the matter is those people were not Christians. Many times there are the cases where people who have ambition for power use the church for their gain. Yet that does not make them Christian. The medici family in Italy hijacked the Catholic church in order to make their family richer. The french monarch use to use the church as a puppet to get what they wanted, and the pope that started the crusades was in fact trying to protect his own butt. There is a reason why there is a separation of church and state. Not to prevent the church from using the state for its own gains but so that the state does not use the church for its own gains. Using the authority of God is a very powerful tool but if misused can cause horrendous atrocities. In the case of the people who did try to lead the church astray Jesus put it best when he said it is better to tie a rock around their neck and drown than to face the judgement of God.