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.
Daniel Paul,
Do you happen to remember who posted a response one time to this same sort of argument, summarizing recorded wars throughout history?
It was pretty impressive. It gave accounts of what the motivation behind each war was, and demonstrated that a minority percentage was religiously motivated ... out of which, most were instagated by Islam.
I let myself get dragged into a "why daddy" tangent discussion (lol) and need to go take care of my family and get back to the original relevant discussion.
"do you deny or agree that christians, whether or you agree with their idea of faith have murders millions of people."
Jesus said that not all those who say "Lord, Lord" shall enter the kingdom of heaven. There are many "Christians" who have done horrible things in the name of Christ. However, I don't know of any Christians that have done any of the things you are claiming.
Don't confuse the religion of Christianity with being a Christian. They are not the same.
dongard,
Okay, I'm home and I've gotten a chance to Google some of your claims and I've seen rather "mixed" results that claim persecution by Christians and OF Christians in the countries you mentioned. That could mean that either/or is on the offensive or defensive.
We hear about the governments of N. Korea & China, built upon atheistic ideologies persecuting people of all religions.
My last point was still ... It's ... NOT ... religious ... people.
IT'S ... PEOPLE; theistic or non-theistic.
:^) BTW ... no = deny.
dongard,
I'll address the rest of your posts later. I'm wrapping up my work day.
dongard,
>> 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. <<
I believe that many Christians have had to kill others to defend themselves. I believe that Christians are sinners like everyone else. I also believe that many people have usurped the name of Christianity to justify their actions, or have coincidentally commit atrocities without regard to religion or faith.
So to answer your question literally ... no.
dongard,
Can you provide a little more proof? I don't recall hearing anything about Christian regimes persecuting anyone on the news, lately.
I think you're really just pulling this stuff ... out of somewhere ... and hoping that other readers will buy it.
The argument "There's no God" is philisophically weak to begin with. I can make similar arguments.
"Michelangelo NEVER created the statue 'David'. He found it buried in the ground naturally formed and just polished it up".
That argument is no more ridiculous than yours.
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.
nigeria, poland, russia, central america, but then so what is your point you can be trusted now, all better, don't use torture and murder any more. honest mom we won't do that again.
dongard, BTW ... uuuh WHERE is Christianity killing and enslaving people ... right now
... at this very moment?
dongard,
Face "what" question? Your analogy is out of scope. I was trying to make a point, and induce some "relevant" discussion.
there is no god or gods, and you don't want to face the question. history is full of murder and death, and yes many in many names have done so. and so has yours. you are defending and supporting an ideology that has killed and continues to kill and enslave. yet you provide no defense other than an imagined afterlife for a few select who pass tests that only certain people administer. this is the very definition of a cult.
dongard,
In any case, your example falls a little short of making any sense.
dongard,
Now you're just being goofy. Religious and non-religious people have been guilty of persecuting someone. Read the Communist Manifesto. Religious people aren't the problem. People (plain ordinary vanilla with no toppings people) are the problem.
Good thing God sent His son to redeem us, EH?
MuggleBorn>>
It blows me away that even if we find scientific evidence that sexual orientation is in innate characteristic, you would still call it sinful... <<
I know this has been beaten to death, but what if scientists discovered that pedophilia was an innate characteristic, genotypic or phenotypic? Should society NOT hold them responsible for their compulsions? Wouldn't it be wrong to imprison, punish, rebuke, or speak ill against some who "just couldn't help it"?
what if we find that believe in religion is innate. and even evolutionary determined
still it is a historical fact that organized religion is responsible for a significant percentage of the premature deaths (murders) of all human life on this planet. knowing this that the lifestyle you are choosing to embrace has resulted in hundreds of millions of murders, tortures and thefts, what then are we left to conclude about your choice.
should you not be held responsible. it is a crime well established in criminal law to be held accountable for murder for gain after the fact.
if you want to join a gang then you assume the guilt of the gang.
Mike,
>> It blows me away that even if we find scientific evidence that sexual orientation is in innate characteristic, you would still call it sinful... <<
I know this has been beaten to death, but what if scientists discovered that pedophilia was an innate characteristic, genotypic or phenotypic? Should society NOT hold them responsible for their compulsions? Wouldn't it be wrong to imprison, punish, rebuke, or speak ill against some who "just couldn't help it"?
Mike, You are right when you say you have to make a choice to sin. God created man but he gave man free will. That free will is the choice of putting God at the center of your life or putting your own desires and wants at the center of your life. Yet because someone is born a certain way does not eliminate what God seeks from them. In the new testament Jesus heals a blind man and says to his disciples that he was not born the way he was because of sin but so that God may reveal his Glory. Now blindness and sexual orientation are not the same thing but the point I get at is each of us are born differently and with different flaws. Each of us have our strengths and weaknesses but as paul noted a christian uses their weaknesses to glorify God. What God looks for the most is for us to completely rely on him. To follow him with absolute obedience. If you really look at the bible obedience is such a strong theme through out the bible that you can find it in every book of the bible. In the old testament God sought obedience from his people through the law while in the new testament he seeks it through love. If you love your father you listen because you know that he has the best intentions for you. So out of love we follow the father even at the expense of something we may want. That is a very scary concept to many and also the reason why it can be difficult to retain your faith in the Lord. Some might rationalize that how can I put myself in a position where I could be helpless or find myself losing more then I would gain. The problem with that argument is then you really don't believe in God. Being a Christian requires us to take the narrow gate and to sometimes be required to go against the current. Some face a stronger current than others. Each man is different in their walk of faith but each brother in Christ shares the common bond that they wish to carry the cross because of what Christ did for them. The word clearly shows that God would never turn his back on us. So going on what the word says we make the leap of faith to surrender ourselves completely. So to get back to what I was saying. If someone is born with a "gene" that causes them to be attracted to someone of the same sex how much Glory do you believe God would receive if you were able to overcome that urge. The thing about true love is that it means dedication and serving even when you might be in total disagreement with one another. When we love our parents we listen to them even when we think it is unfair. Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love thy father with all your heart. So that leaves you with a choice in the end regardless of the way you are born. Do you place the father first in your life or your partner. And who do you think would be the right choice if you were Christian.
igh: Yes. filth, darkness, depravity.
mike2685, your 100% correct, to sin you have to choose. And since the Bible condemns the sexual practices of homosexuality then that must mean they are a sin. So therefore if you choose to practice them you are choosing to sin. Plus what wb was saying is that each of us is born with a sinful nature and as a result we have a bent toward sin. And as he shared you don't have to teach a child to be selfish because they have a natural bent to it already.
Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Mike,
I have children of my own. I have also had child development classes. While some children might learn these behaviora from others, other children need no such socialization to begin. Ask any parent who pays attention, most children manipulate from the very beginning. Children learn with no help from others how to manipulate and lie to get what they want.
If God called it sin, then It is sin. You might not like it. You might not want to agree. This does not change the fact that homosexual desire and sex are sins according to God.
Whether to engage in any behavior is a choice. Even whether to think thoughts of a particular nature (lust, anger, fear) is a choice.
No child born with crack cocaine addiction chooses to be that way. No loving adult would allow that child to remain in that condition - they will try to help the child heal from it. And after the child is healed, he will always have a propensity towards addiction of that nature. This does not mean it is not a sin for that child to get messed up on crack when he becomes an adult.
What blows me away that you claim to love God, yet you call Him a liar.
Wrong! Believer, there is no hard evidence one way or the other, so I can only go off my life experience, which you don't even have behind you. It is wrong of you to say "we MUST assume it is a choice" because you don't have the evidence you claim I don't have, therefore, I could just as easily say we MUST assume it is not a choice.
WB, as someone who has taken child psychology classes up the wazzoo and worked with children for the past 8 years, I can assure you, children who learn to lie, steal, and cheat do so through socialization, not through an inherent trait.
It blows me away that even if we find scientific evidence that sexual orientation is in innate characteristic, you would still call it sinful and say the devil must have corrupted the child. To sin, you must choose. If you do not choose to be gay, you are not sinning by it!
believer, I agree with you. Regardless of how people end up with a sin preference, they have the responsibility to not indulge it.
There are plenty of people claim to be "wired that way" (some claim genes, others environment) and end up having to learn to not engage in their sin of choice. Sometimes they are delivered from the desire, other times they are not. But God calls some of the things they do sin, and regardless of whether they are delivered from it or not.
Children seem born knowing how to lie, deceive, and steal. Yet even though its natural to them, we tell them they have to control themselves and not do lie, be honest, do not steal. This is what Scripture tells us:
Leviticus 19:11 Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.
It matters not whether anyone is born with a particular leaning towards a particular sin. God can remove it from us, but even if He does not, we have the responsibility to not sin and to teach others to not sin.
wb, I also agree that even if they were to discover that homosexuality if genetically predetermined that it would either be the result of Satan's handiwork or more logically a genetic malfunction since people get upset if I say mutation as a result of man's sinful nature which means it occurred since the fall of Adam and Eve.
Mike2685, as I've said on several occasions there is no valid scientific data to support the claim that a person is born homosexual with no choice in the matter. Based on that at this point and time we must assume it is a matter of choice. My sense is if they do find a genetic link it will be a matter of persuasion which means the person still has to make a choice to move to that persuasion.
People who say they are born "that way" are the one's making the excuse. The only time that is a viable arguement is when you are talking about a disability. Even those can be overcome. The pro-gay camp says they are born that way so it makes it OK. The Bible as written camp says it's sin.
To be honest, Christianity isn't based on how you were born. It is based on being born again. All things are become new. If the Bible says homosexuality is wrong then a born again person is born out of being gay into being conformed to the image of Jesus. It doesn't matter if it's drugs, alchohol, adultry, fornication, homosexuality, lying, stealing or whatever. The old things are to pass away and all things have become new.
There's no reason satan could not have warped a homosexual's development, either in the womb or outside it. There's no reason someone could not be homosexual just so that the work of God would be shown in their life by healing them from it - but there must be faith.
John 9:1-3
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. --John 3:3
If I was born gay, then it would follow God created me gay, then it would follow God simply must have contradicted himself because he calls homosexuality a sin, yet God can't create sin, so your whole argument would fall in on itself. I see why you're so vehemently denying that I could be born gay, then making excuses even if we could prove it...
mike2685 said:
"Believer, there is no choice in the matter of sexual orientation!"
umm let me correct one thing here, you can choose to ask God to help you stay away from it and be healed from this Sin.
You cannot justify it, even if beyond a shadow of a doubt it can be proven many are "born that way"
so stop and think about it mike, you can know Jesus as he wants you too, you cannot justify sin. How wonderful Jesus is, How Glorious he is! How willing to help you in any need, just submit to him being Lord over your life and you will never regret it. Amen.
Believer, there is no choice in the matter of sexual orientation! You seem so smart and educated, yet it blows me away that you cannot see through the falsities spread by members of NARTH and Exodus. I never chose to be gay, nor did any gay person I know of. It floors me that you tell me it was a choice, but you truly do not know that! I do, I am living it!
dongard, as far as the comparison issue, I was responding to lovethyneighbor, who said that if God didn't creat homosexuals then there wouldn't be homosexuals. Using his/her logic the same would hold true for murderers, rapists, and terrorists. I do not nor would I ever compare homosexuals to those categories of people. And I offer my apology to any who read my post that way.
dongard, many Christians do empathize with homosexuals because like them we had to make a choice in order to become a Christian and homosexuals have to make a choice to become a homosexual. But the diference is this, it is God's desire for as many as would to become a child of God whereas He does not desire that any should choose a lifestyle that leads to sinful practices such as the sexual practices of homosexuality. Where we can fall short as Christians is if we don't allow people who are caught up in either sin or a sinful lifestyle to know that God has a remedy and that is provided through a person repenting of their sin and turning to God through the person and finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ alone. For in Christ alone will a person find the ability to resist the devil and flee from temptation and the sin that temptation leads to. So please tell me in what I just said do you find hate and prejudice, for what God does require for a homosexual to be saved and set free from their sin and their sinful lifestyle is required of all who want to be saved and set free from sin.
dongard , when i read posts like yours i know the 'mark' is on its way! You are being conditioned as many are, in these last days to Receive the Beast. As John the Baptist did Prepare the Way for the Son of God with the True Doctrine of Repentence to God for sins, you are being told not to repent to turn away from God , to believe lies. So when the anti-christ comes you will have been prepared to receive him!! Sound unbelievable? Well we will see. Very soon.