Consider every gay equality battle over and won. Hallmark, the conservative and global greetings card company, has brought out a range of same-sex marriage greetings cards, signalling gay people’s full submersion into mainstream, mundane society.

The cards, which will be available in the USA, feature such groundbreaking designs as two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers. ‘Two hearts. One promise.’ reads one card.

Hallmark started offering ‘coming out’ cards last year, and four designs of same-sex marriage cards are being gradually released this summer and will be widely available by next year.

The language inside the cards is neutral, with no explicit mention of weddings or marriage. Hallmark last year pulled a controversial card that featured the word ‘queer’ after it was criticized by some customers and gay magazine The Advocate last year.

In the USA, gay marriage is legal in California and Massachusetts. A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions.

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,” said Hallmark spokeswoman Sarah Gronberg Kolell.

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.

An estimated 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’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.

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