You Can Now Get Your Gay and Lesbian Greeting Cards at Target

Gay marriage may not be legal in all 50 states, but retail giant Target is now making it easier to express your support for the issue with its new line of gay and lesbian greeting cards.

The cards hit store shelves nationwide in June and include covers such as "Mr. & Mr." and "Two very special women, one very special love."

"Target is focused on diversity and inclusivity," Target spokesperson Molly Snyder told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. A spokesperson for Carlton Cards, the division of American Greetings that makes the cards, added that Target and Carlton teamed up to make "wedding cards relevant for everyone."

The greeting card decision follows a controversy two years ago where Target was berated by the gay community for donating $150,000 to MN Forward, a group that was supporting Tom Emmer's gubernatorial bid in Minnesota. Emmer was criticized for not supporting gay rights. Since then, however, Target has taken decidedly pro-gay actions. For example, the company recently sold gay pride t-shirts on its website and donated a portion of the proceeds to a gay rights group.

"What Target and other marketers have figured out is it's not a zero-sum game," Witeck Communications CEO Bob Witeck told the Star Tribune. "The rewards of marketing to gay households are greater than the perceived risks." Witeck even quantifies it: he says the purchasing power of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community is $790 billion, or about $49,000 per adult.

The greeting card issue is especially relevant as Minnesota residents vote this November on a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.