We understand Hallmark is a business-- in the entertainment business, if you will. That's why we almost understood their use of the word "queer" as a punchline in a greeting card (it actually wasn't as bad as all that.) But are their latest wedding cards cynical, because they waited for the cultural tide to turn in favor of gay marriage before they had the guts to mass produce them?
Here's the full photo ABC News has of the card due out soon:
For those of you with eyes even worse than ours, the card reads: "Two hearts. One promise." Hell, we wouldn't be surprised if people walk past it in the greeting card aisle without even picking up on the fact that both cover characters are wearing tuxedos. Of course, this doesn't mean Hallmark has been able to slip this one past the crazies at the American Family Association, which pressed "SEND" on their instant, fill-in-the-company-name boycott press release fax machine:
Hallmark Greeting Cards has announced
it will begin selling same-sex wedding cards, even though same-sex
marriage is legal in only two states. The purpose, they say, is to
satisfy consumer demand. It appears that their purpose is also to push
same-sex marriage. Last year Hallmark began offering "coming out" cards
- as in "coming out of the closet" -- a euphemism for announcing
homosexuality.
We've all given or received Hallmark Cards –
remember their slogan – "when you care enough to send the very best."
But promoting same-sex marriage for profit is not the very best for
families or our nation. [If you're looking for a link, sorry, we don't give out page views to hate sites - Ed.]
As various media outlets have already pointed out, the Hallmark cards are a step forward but also not even offensive to gay marriage opponents-- after all, the language is neutral, meaning there's no mention of "marriage" or even "gay butt sex." For all the AFA knows, these cards are for "commitment ceremonies," which probably wouldn't shut them up but maybe would keep a boycott from succeeding.
What do you think? Should Hallmark be praised or condemned for these cards?
Image via ABC.
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