Wisconsin-based spice company Penzeys is celebrating the state’s marriage equality win by sharing the stories of four of the plaintiff couples (several of whom have children), including “their lives, their cooking and their love.” Lest you think they’re just jumping on the bandwagon, they also reposted an article about gay dads Pat and Dennis and their four kids that ran in their newsletter way back in 2005. It lost them customers at the time — but they stuck with their beliefs.
Owner Bill Penzey writes:
What we’ve found at the heart of all inequality issues is that those on the privileged side of the divide have always been raised to believe that their privilege makes sense because they are the good people, the moral ones, the heroes.
By giving a glimpse of the incredible moral decency of Pat and Dennis we challenged lifetimes of belief. We lost customers. We understood that would happen. But it’s what happened since that has us so joyful. Yes, changing demographics have played a part in the success marriage equality is having today, but an equal part of the success has come from those who over the last decade have changed their views.
Go read the rest of his piece along with the stories of the other families (including some of their favorite recipes). (Click on the text links below the photos, not just the photos.)
I’ve never bought anything from Penzeys, although they have stores in many states as well as mail and online ordering (and seem to make a habit of profiling interesting people in their catalogs). I love to cook, though, and have so many spices I’ve alphabetized them to keep track. (I’m not nearly that organized in all areas of my life — trust me.) I’m sure I’ll be ordering something from them now. See? Marriage equality is good for a state’s economy.
(Thanks to my day-job colleague who told me about this.)