Some Shops Reject Same-Sex Wedding Cards

Owners Of Several Idaho Hallmark Stores Won't Sell New Line Catering To Same-Sex Partners

(CBS/AP)  A manager says seven Hallmark greeting card stores in the Treasure Valley will not carry the company's new same-sex marriage cards.

Cassi Jacobsen, an assistant manager for the Jordan's Hallmark store in Nampa's Karcher Mall, says the family that owns the seven area stores has decided against carrying the new line of greeting cards.

She said the owners were out of town and not immediately available for comment.

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 says all of its stores can choose whether they want to add the latest offerings.

Reaction to the cards has been mixed.

Idaho Values Alliance Executive Director Bryan Fischer sent out a press release Thursday calling for local-area Hallmark stores not to carry the cards.

"Hallmark, the venerable greeting card company, is doing nationwide what 48 states and the federal government have refused to do, and that is to recognize homosexual marriage," Fischer wrote.

But Delmar Stone of Nampa, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers - Idaho Chapter, called the cards "wonderful."

Jody May-Chang, the Boise editor of the gay rights Web site PrideDEPOT.com, called the decision a bullying tactic.

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.

[antoniof123]

As a moderate it is their right not to carry the cards if they decide too. However, it is also the right of Hallmark to offer the card. No one forces you to buy something or to watch something that is a personal choice.

Good night and good luck.

[rixmix98]

Posted by antoniof123 at 09:42 AM : Aug 26, 2008

One of the most intelligent posts I''ve read in a long time.

[dagrandma]

antoniof123 let''s carry that one step further: If I lived in Idaho, it would be my right to never set foot in a Hallmark store that did not carry the cards.

[william_lerd]

Thank God there is still some decency in this world.

[rixmix98]

Posted by DaGrandma at 10:17 AM : Aug 26, 2008

You''re absolutely correct. Nice to see intelligent people posting here.

[rixmix98]

Posted by mnmaid at 10:33 AM : Aug 26, 2008

You hit the nail on the head!!!!!!!!
mnmaid for President.

[tomanyt]

It a card! Period. This shouldn''t be a big deal.

[designsmith-2009]

Change comes slowly, but it will come regardless how uncomfortable it is for some or many. Gay rights will not roll backwards because equality is a basic, fundamental right to all. People who think that being gay is abhorent live in a vacuum. We are your doctors, lawyers, dentists, neighbors, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters.

Bigotry and racism have no place in the eyes of the law. Contrary to myth, Jesus was not white, nor was he a Republican or a racist. He was a jew. He would not have agreed with building a wall around the Holy City to keep out the rift-raft, the Mexicans or the ***. He was the rift-raft who took in the disenfranchised. He was the quintessential liberal.

Someone truly has the gall to call bigotry "decent" on here. I''m tired of conservatives hiding their hate and bigotry behind God and Country. What pious, misguided, little people you are. Being in a majority or mob mentality doesn''t make you right.

[mcvet-1]

I am so sick of the Toe Tappers and their Hate! What ever happened to the Nation I grew up in? The Nation that left people alone and worried about their OWN dirt behind their OWN back door. As Larry Craig and all the Child Molesters in the Church have PROVEN, these people have PLENTY to keep them busy in their OWN house. Sieg Heil and Amen

[credibility2]

These retail stores can sell whatever they want to, including not selling product they know will have no marketability or saleability. No store should be forced to accept these cards or any other merchandise for sale, regardless of their reasons for rejecting them. It''s still a free country.

[barbaram99]

Good. It as Vince said the cards are not in keeping with good standards,his words. The shop said no..If they don''t want to carry them then don''t..
I would like to see cards in large print. I found one years ago. It was so easy to see to read it. I bought it and sent it. By the way senior cards would be nice. As one poster said ye can change the channel on yer TV or shut it off. When it comes to buying ye can buy/not buy .
My list,
Will I..
USE IT
WANT IT
NEED IT
If I can''t asnwer Yes to 2 or all 3. Then I don''t buy the item/s.

[dmswolves]

Hallmark needs to get with the 20th Century. What is it going to hurt. Is it because they are backwards along with several other states. Why not make everyone happy and just sale the cards.

[checkthepast]

MCVet-1
"The Nation that left people alone..." in my opinion were happy to leave others alone, as long as it was a two way street. I don''t rub my beliefs in peoples faces as those who choose "alternative lifestyles" seem to want to do relentlessly.

When "daddy''s new friend" books were shoved into school libraries and when my children ask me why 2 men are kissing in the park.... or the mews media doesn''t stop talking about same *** marriage then I have full rights to my opinion as well as anyone does.

Same gender sexual relationships (in my opinion) are confused perverse people with their brains in their pants that either can''t or won''t have a normal male/female relationship for who knows what reason (each is individual I''m sure).

I just tell the kids that some people are confused.

[Kilz]

mnmaid
Judgment is not a sin, at least not to Christians.
Jhon 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
We are commanded to look for sin and avoid it. That is only possible by judging what is sin and who is involved in sin.
We can find clear passages that point to homosexuality as sin.
Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

[bobmarisol]

Why do gay people feel the need to dishonor the sanctity of marriage?? If you want to be gay, that is your business. But dont encroach your deviant lifestyle onto society by demanding marriage ''rights''.

After all, other deviant individuals do not try to force their lifestyles onto society by making their behavior legal. When is the last time you heard of a drug dealer lobbying Congress to legalize the distribution of cocaine?? When was the last time a bank robber complained that he was being discriminated against?? Even though drug dealers and bank robbers obviously have no respect for the law, they at least recognize that their behavior is unlawful and they do not try to force society to legalize their behavior.

The point is, just because you want to engage in deviant behavior doesn''t mean that society has to legalize it and recognize your ''rights'' to be deviant.

[sociald63]

...this is news ??

[rixmix98]

Posted by kcits at 11:17 AM : Aug 26, 2008

I couldn%u2019t help but notice you conveniently left off the following:

19 %u2026%u2026..Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

23 When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten.

24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD.

25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God.

26 Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or sorcery.

27 Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

28 Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

30 Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.

31 Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

32 Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.

[bob5ford]

BOYCOTT HALLMARK COMPLETELY !!!!!!!!!!!!

[harp1963]

Good. We shouldn''t promote what we are certain is wrong. The flaws in my life or anyone elses life should not be presented as o.k. just because many are doing it. It''s like the far right telling us torture is o.k., no, it''s just as wrong as homosexuality.

[katiecntdikk]

I am so sick of the Toe Tappers and their Hate! What ever happened to the Nation I grew up in? Sieg Heil and Amen

Posted by MCVet-1 at 10:52 AM : Aug 26, 2008

Germany still hates you, and America can''t wait for you to go back!

[katiecntdikk]

It''''s like the far right telling us torture is o.k., no, it''''s just as wrong as homosexuality.

Posted by harp1963 at 11:42 AM : Aug 26, 2008

Do they make torture greeting cards yet?

[eggy1620]

Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

I think this was a command towards women to stay away from men and sleep with other women. Woo-Hoo!

[displeased]

I could care less what cards a store sells. When I rarely shop for a card, I''m looking for what suits my needs while ignoring the rest. Isn''t that how everybody else shops? So what''s the big deal?

[govwatch-2009]

Laws in any society are only as effective as those number that are willing to accept them as beneficial for the society. If not, then anarchy and rebellion are soon to follow, i.e. the Roman Empire.

[liselle3]

Dear Davey 027
Do you seriously think you''ll go to heaven?

You crude and nasty ditty
Only shows your unkind, and not at all witty

Perhaps you should spend less time contributing to strife,
and you''ll have more assurances of your afterlife.

[jjp735i]

As always "you can feel that Christian love" in most of these post. Calling people "deviant" or calling for boycotts.

If you believe same s.e.x anything is a sin, why are you not doing as Christ said....

''If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone.

''Then neither do I condemn you,'' Jesus declared. ''Go now and leave your life of sin.''"

That''s right, the Religious can pick and choose whay they want from the Bible. It''s not really about them after all.

[checkthepast]

I''m just glad homosexuality isn''t hereditary.....
:)

[rixmix98]

Well it looks like another company besides McDonalds will not be seeing my business.

Posted by SGinNC at 12:49 PM : Aug 26, 2008


And I''m sure they''re in a tizzy trying to figure out what they will do without your business.

[jankebenz]

''''Then neither do I condemn you,'''' Jesus declared. ''''Go now and leave your life of sin.''''"

Posted by jjp735i at 12:36 PM : Aug 26, 2008

The key words being "leave your sin", homosexuality is a sin.

[displeased]

Well it looks like another company besides McDonalds will not be seeing my business.
Posted by SGinNC

Are you piissed because some of the Hallmark stores are carrying the cards or because some aren''t?

[andor3]

some people want to buy these cards. some stores sell them. so they will buy from the stores that do sell them, or online. the stores that do not miss out on business. their loss. who do the shop owners really think they are punishing besides themselves? people still get the cards, hallmark still gets the sale.

[andor3]

the really funny thing about this: Hallmark is a big successful business. You know they did the research and math. And concluded what is generally known: the anti-gay folks are a small minority and tend to be at the bottom of the socio-economic scale--they are not buying a lot of cards or anything else. But gay people tend to be well-off and have economic power and spending money.

I can see why this angers gay haters--being marginalized stings, truth hurts.

[siriusly2]

I''m straight and am proud to call many homosexuals my friends. Hallmark wouldn''t be offering the cards if there weren''t a market for them...good for them making a wise business decision and being open minded. I''ll be sure to buy from them more often - I can at least offset one boycott.

By the way, CheckThePast, keep to your day job. You''re not clever enough to be entertaining.

[voidmaster-2009]

You want to be left alone? Get back in the closet and take your K-Y with you.

Posted by checkthepast
***
Get a clue, checkthepast, you have neither the right nor the authority to NOT leave someone else alone. I realize your mama taught you otherwise. She lied to you.

[voidmaster-2009]

If the product(s) a store sells bothers you, shop elsewhere.

Gee! See how easy that was; no black eyes, no bloodshed -- but then, black eyes and bloodshed is what you really came for, now isn%u2019t it? Makes me wonder who should really be in the closet.

[voidmaster-2009]

But only a fraction of our society are sick perverts who want to make it with someone of the same ***.

Posted by SginNC
***
True, sick perverts comprise only a fraction of society. What does that have to do with homos.e.xuality? The vast majority of homos.e.xuals are not sick perverts.

[puritan9]

And we call this a free country? Who cares what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms? Lets not make a big deal about marriage either. Most married Americans cheat and divorce and cheat again anyway, so who wants to teach morality? This is the problem of Christian fundamentalism gone wild. No other countries in the world are fundamentalist like the Christian right wing here other than the Islamic fundamentalists. There is little difference between the two. One worships an invisible God and the other a corpse, and both are intolerant of religious freedoms. I am sick of both extreme fanatics.

[voidmaster-2009]

I agree with your argument that what a person does should be between only them and God. And what they do in private is no ones business, but that is no longer the case because it is no longer private. You see we have activists teaching our children in public schools and attempting to limit our freedom of speech, just look at Canada as an example of this. And lets not forget public displays that are becoming the norm of this so called acceptable group. Just take a look at any of their get togethers and you will see the truth of this sickness.

Posted by SGinNC
***
First of all, I%u2019m not sure what you%u2019re referring to with regard to Canada. As for compromising free speech, consider how it is that you publicly chastise an entire group of people with impunity. Sounds like free speech to me.

Regarding recruiting in the schools: bullish. Haven%u2019t seen it. As far as TEACHING kids%u2026 what is being taught that you find so wrong? Is it tolerance for others?

Finally, as far as %u201Ckeeping it private,%u201D can you even begin to imagine how outraged I become when I see people standing around in public preaching Jesus? Such perverts have even come to my front door! You keep that BS private and then we can talk about limiting public displays of affection.

[rixmix98]

SGinNC:

Take a look at ANY of their get togethers? You''re looking at something that I (gay) am even embarrassed by. However, explain the heterosexual community and their antics at Mardi Gras; otherwise keep your thoughts to yourself.

[voidmaster-2009]

Now that we got that settled...

[voidmaster-2009]

%u201CCanada has made it illegal to voice your disapproval of Homosexuality%u2026%u201D

If true, that%u2019s in Canada and it would still be wrong.

**

%u201CWell because you have not seen it, then I guess it doesn''''t exist.%u201D

Typical, irrelevant non-argument.

**

%u201CBut yes there are childrens books being made available, guest speakers coming in to tell children it is ok to be a homosexual and even homosexually sponsored days in school.%u201D

Telling children that it is %u201COk to be gay%u201D is not the same thing as recruiting. Teaching them to be accepting of other people -- even people who are (gasp) different from them is not only a good thing, it%u2019s decades overdue in America.

**

%u201CI guess people that have opposite beliefs of what God says is acceptable would feel this way.%u201D

Your god, perhaps. Not mine. But then, that is the point, now isn%u2019t it? Care to actually try actually responding to what I said? It%u2019s about equal protection under the law.

[voidmaster-2009]

So SGinNC, do you somehow imagine that you have some inherently great right to be protected from being offended than I do? See, I get that it%u2019s what your god said. But I don%u2019t care. That is your god. Your god has told you to be offended by certain behavior. %u201CHe%u201D might even tell me the same thing if I listened. But I choose not to.

Rather, I will decide for myself what is offensive to me rather than allowing someone else to tell me what *ought to be* offensive. It%u2019s called thinking for yourself as opposed to trying to live by a formula. Besides, just because you say, %u201CThis is what god wants/things/feels%u2026%u201D does not make it so.

[renojmc]

So SGinNC, do you somehow imagine that you have some inherently great right to be protected from being offended than I do? See, I get that it%u2019s what your god said. But I don%u2019t care. That is your god. Your god has told you to be offended by certain behavior. %u201CHe%u201D might even tell me the same thing if I listened. But I choose not to.

Rather, I will decide for myself what is offensive to me rather than allowing someone else to tell me what *ought to be* offensive. It%u2019s called thinking for yourself as opposed to trying to live by a formula. Besides, just because you say, %u201CThis is what god wants/things/feels%u2026%u201D does not make it so.

Posted by VoidMaster at 04:03 PM : Aug 26, 2008
----------------------------

So sad for you. Deny God all you want, but that doesn''t change the fact that "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." You will too, but it will likely be too late. Your fate in Hell will be sealed. Torture, day and night, never ceasing, for all of eternity, will be your fate. He doesn''t send you there; you send yourself there by rejecting Jesus.

Nothing you say or believe will change that.

[voidmaster-2009]

So sad for you. Deny God all you want, but that doesn''''t change the fact that "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." You will too, but it will likely be too late. Your fate in Hell will be sealed. Torture, day and night, never ceasing, for all of eternity, will be your fate. He doesn''''t send you there; you send yourself there by rejecting Jesus.

Nothing you say or believe will change that.

Posted by renojmc
***
Let me get this straight%u2026 You god put me here, completely without my consent. Then he tells me I have to play whatever hand I%u2019m dealt, regardless how good or bad it may be. And I can%u2019t cash out early or I automatically lose by default.

And oh by the way, unless I love him by the time he calls %u201Cgame,%u201D I get to suffer for all eternity.

Is that your god? Nice. And fortunately, nothing that you believe will ever make that so.

On the other hand, perhaps there really is no such thing as free will. In that case, everything has already been decided regardless what choices I make. Care to join me for Marti Gras?

[susanhelit]

Ahhh - a classic exchange below:

---------------------------------------
Posted by Andor3
"You know they did the research and math. And concluded what is generally known: the anti-gay folks are a small minority and tend to be at the bottom of the socio-economic scale--they are not buying a lot of cards or anything else. But gay people tend to be well-off and have economic power and spending money."

Reply:
----------------------
Andor3 you are a complete idiot. You know nothing about me and I assure you I am educated and am doing well financially. Also, you are wrong about homosexuals being in the majority. They may have sympathizers and they are good at building PAC''''s and other groups for their cause. But only a fraction of our society are sick perverts who want to make it with someone of the same ***.
---------------------------------------

So - a person replying to two facts - anti-gay types tend to be lower on the socio-economic scale responds with one nonsequitur - education was nowhere mentioned, and one irrelevant fact - that they have money - a detail that does not change a thing about the statistics. Then they proceed to reply again to an argument invented in their own head, since it''s nowhere posted by anyone that homosexuals are the majority, just to finish off this Logic 101 example of how not to debate.

[voidmaster-2009]

%u201C%u2026just to finish off this Logic 101 example of how not to debate.%u201D

Posted by SusanHelit
***
roflmao - Excellent post.

[susanhelit]

It''s just so typical - the facts are unpleasant, so let''s not debate the facts. Let''s change the topic, and reply to that. It is really a simple equation though. Businesses want to make money! There''s a lot of people with money who will buy these cards. So any smart business will make the cards.

The few people so prejudiced as to boycott you because of the cards are likely to make significantly less money and are not likely to be your customers anyway. People with more money (on average - there are outliers of every type) are more likely to appreciate tolerance, even when it is not their particular group - this time - that is being given equal treatment.

It''s sure been true that I''ve seen. I''ve worked inside of many different classes at my different jobs, going through college. The lower class, the less tolerant, the more racist (this applies to lower class minorities as well as whites), the more concerned with sticking their noses into other people''s sexuality to find something to disapprove of, try to control, feel superior about, or condemn. The more educated, the more tolerant a person becomes. And every study shows the same. Look at any study of acceptance of homosexuality mapped against income or education. Same result every time.

[voidmaster-2009]

applause

[voidmaster-2009]

Wish you could have been here earlier, SusanHelit. Then again%u2026 those who came to exercise their bigotry most likely were far to%u2026 ummm%u2026 numb? to comprehend that logic.

[magoo2u1]

"So sad for you. Deny God all you want, but that doesn''''''''t change the fact that "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." You will too, but it will likely be too late. Your fate in Hell will be sealed. Torture, day and night, never ceasing, for all of eternity, will be your fate. He doesn''''''''t send you there; you send yourself there by rejecting Jesus.

Man, you cross tossers sure are violent. "torture day and night". Bet the guy that kept his daughter locked up in the basement for 30 years is one of you guys. I don''t see where not wanting to do harm to homosexuals should send anyone to heck anyhow. Where, in the bible , does it demand hunting down homos and hurting them? Denying them anything? Live and let live , if you are right they will get theirs in the end and no skin off your back.