This ranks nowhere near the bottom of the depths....I once new a guy so homophobic that he wouldn't let his kids watch "The Flintsones" because the last line of the theme song is "we'll have a gay old time".

His stores - his right to carry what he wants - until Obama declares such rights as a hate crime.

It isnt' homophobia, rather hetro-marriage centric. They've been knowningly voted for a gay US Senator for years. If you think Craig's sexual preference was first exposed in a Minnesota airport, you are sorely mistaken. His sexual preference has been Idaho's worst kept secret since his days at the University of Idaho.

Nampa is the new Tehran. I understand they don't have homosexuals there either...

justa ... do you have to work at being so ignorant or does it come naturally? crawl back underneath the rock that is your home.

Homophobia with greeting cards??? Those are going to fly off the shelf. Carla, your a blogger not a Store Owner. Do you know the term turns?

Too bad, Blue Oregon whiners. It's a private business that can do what it wants. Not everyone in the Northwest feels like that have to "accept" everyone else's lifestyles. So shut up and move on.

Too bad, Blue Oregon whiners. It's a private business that can do what it wants. Not everyone in the Northwest feels like that have to "accept" everyone else's lifestyles. So shut up and move on.

Hmmm. I know plenty about turns and this isn't a smart business move. The fact of the matter is the shelf space that these cards will inhabit is extremely small compared to other sections. Also, they reach out to a demographic that 1)Per capita spends a lot of dough 2)Has extreme brand and store loyalty for retailers that appeal to them. 3)Is heavily influenced by word of mouth recomendation.

Hallmark corp realizes this. That is why they devloped the cards in the first place. They were in no way trying to make a political stand. They are just making more money. The media and everyone else are turning this into an "issue" not Hallmark. The fact of the matter is whatever this person's reasons are for not bringing the cards in is their business as a franchisee. If they lose money or don't realize the profit ganins that other locations are getting because of it is their mistake.

Idaho's Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to a measure that would bar all forms of ''domestic legal unions'' except marriage between a man and a woman. Is the Stores not in Idaho? "shelf space that these cards will inhabit is extremely small" Why is that?

The measure that may or may not pass in Idaho doesn't speak much to the cards. People in the LGBT community have been having commitment ceremonies of their own for just a few thousand years now.
From what I have seen it is a relatively small product line and even if it was large a store owner could only request having the top few sellers (as determined by the test markets, focus groups, etc) and run with that. I had plenty of store managers balk when I told them the book they needed to have on their shelves contained the word "bitch" in the title but when they saw the sales numbers on the book they got over it and put the books on the shelf right up front. Those suckers flew off the shelf and with the help of some other product lines really ushered in a new demographic into some of the stores I service.

The owner of the stores may or may not be in their rights to decide not to carry the cards.

Hallmark stores are not franchisees, but they do have a licensing agreement with Hallmark, and there are certain standards that they have to meet.

It does seem to be a small, petty move on the part of the store owners.

Besides, at this point the tide has moved so far that it's close to inevitable that marriage equality will be a reality throughout most of the country within twenty years.

Only thirty-one years ago the voters of Eugene, of all places, voted to overturn a non-discrimination ordinance. Now that would be unthinkable.

What self respecting gay would buy tacky crap from Hallmark anyways. I do agree that they should and are able to carry what they want, just as people are able to choose not to go there.

Sure, the store owner has a right not to carry, but we have an equal right to ridicule him.

I surmise that many of the Hallmark cards are designed by gays in their Kansa City HQ. I know of two ex-Portlanders who fit that bill.

Stupid? Been to Idaho much? Choosing not to stock this particular line probably represents a better business decision for the proprietor, simple as that.

Nevertheless, I pledge to never set foot in a Hallmark store again. Let the boycott begin.

"Let the boycott begin"

I've wondered for some time how an economic civil war would pan out.
Liberals and their big government entitlement society against the capitalist corporatist conservatives. Seems to me that when it comes down to business, small or large, jobs and the economy liberals need conservatives much more than the reverse. But what do I know? I'm just a troll.

This is funnier than hell, considering about half the staff at Nampa City Hall believe their unmarried {and seriously weird) mayor, Tom Dale, is a closet gay.

I worked there for years, and would love to see his arrogant little ass pried out of his Nancy-girl closet.

Nampa is a boring town filled with smug, pretentious, and often incompetent civic leaders, so full of themselves they don't realize they won the "Armpit of The West" award three years running.

God that felt good!

P.S. Denver is great, Arianna is speaking to the little people tomorrow, and the drive back to Idaho should be low traffic (so very few Dems heading that way).

If there is something stupider and smaller than the decision to not carry the cards it is the kneejerk Right reaction to the story that it is "their right." Despite the fact that no one made any insinuation that it wasn't, the self-evident had to be ennunciated. There is a lack in communication and social skills here. Since no such thought that the store policy was illegal or illegitimate was voiced the assumption is that all left sites are communistic dictatorship leaning sinkholes. When your opposition is that stupid it makes you wonder why you haven't regularly kicked their asses. Maybe it is just that 'teh gay' short circuits their two communicating brain cells and makes them look stupider than they really are. Then again...

My dad spent his childhood in and around Nampa and left at the earliest opportunity.

He's specifically mentioned Teh Gay as one of the things that was known to exist close at hand but was NEVER, EVER talked about.

The first time I passed through the area on my travels, I was struck by its sparseness. Since Dad's house (three states to the east) was my destination, I wasted no time asking him what (if anything) was there.

His response: "Nothing. That's why I left!"

Chuck Butcher for the win!

Brian said:

Nevertheless, I pledge to never set foot in a Hallmark store again. Let the boycott begin.

Don't boycott all Hallmark stores. Just boycott the ones that won't stock the new cards. (Remember, the cards in question are made by Hallmark itself.)

Steve said:

I've wondered for some time how an economic civil war would pan out. Liberals and their big government entitlement society against the capitalist corporatist conservatives. Seems to me that when it comes down to business, small or large, jobs and the economy liberals need conservatives much more than the reverse. But what do I know? I'm just a troll.

Perhaps people think you're a troll because of the knee-jerk oversimplifying rhetoric you espouse.

We're not against business. We are against corporations and the wealthy having too much power and being allowed to escape responsibility. We're also for government policies that allow everyone a chance to get ahead. We want a rising tide that lifts all boats, not just the yachts. That's good for everyone. When average folks can be lifted up, when people can get the education they need, when people don't have to worry about starving, it makes for a happier and more economically prosperous society. And this is good for business.

It's not an "economic civil war" to favor companies whose policies are more in line with your values. It's something that everyone should do. It's something that liberals sometimes do, and conservatives sometimes do.

Who needs who more? Now there's the rub.

It was pointed out earlier how the book with the word "bitch" in the title was thought distasteful by a merchant until he realized the profits he could make. The money tasted better then anything. BOOK FOR SALE!!!

It was also noted how a boycott was economic warfare. Sonny, that's what you so effusively [maybe I should use smaller, simpler words] ... eagerly ... [almost as if on cue from some FOX somewhere] call the free market.

The smart monkeys [oops, getting evolutionary here, how will that comport with a Christian suffering from self induced blindness?] ignore the social controversies because they realize the interdependency we all have with each other. Money is neither red nor blue, it's green. We all realize it, we all have it, we all want more, and the market could really care less how it gets it. The market is taking their money to China and India anyway.

<h2>Well thankfully, Nampa isn't as Liberal as Oregon. Shove it!</h2>