Some Shops Reject Same-Sex Wedding Cards

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.