Sanctity, Schmanctity

So we just stripped a whole class of people of their right to get married in California because we are so worried about gays and lesbians desanctifying the already sorry state of marriage in this country, but we don't hear a peep from the Mormon Church, James Dobson, or the rest of the usual suspects when a bride decides to switch to another groom 2 weeks before the wedding because the original groom backed out. And then when the sham marriage ends less than 3 weeks later, the only outrage is that she didn't return the wedding gifts.

But hey, at least it was sanctified for a couple of weeks or so:

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I received an invitation from a family member to attend their daughter "Heidi's" wedding on Father's Day weekend. We canceled our existing plans in order to attend, and gave "Heidi and Dave" an appropriate gift. As the ceremony progressed, the minister asked, "Do you, Steve, take Heidi" ... at which point the guests began whispering to themselves, "STEVE?"

We were embarrassed, thinking we had made a horrible mistake in addressing the gift card -- and we weren't the only ones. Finally, after much discussion among the guests, someone approached the bride's mother to ask if we had made a mistake. "Oh, no" she replied, "Dave backed out two weeks ago. Heidi asked Steve if he would marry her, and he said he wasn't doing anything else this weekend, so why not?"

I was flabbergasted. Predictably, in less than three weeks, this sham of a marriage was over. Heidi, of course, retained all the gifts.

My wife says it's no big deal. I say the bride's parents should have called the guests and explained the circumstances so they could make an informed decision about attending. I was also raised to believe that in cases such as this, where the commitment to marriage was so obviously missing, that the gifts should be returned. Am I wrong? This has caused a rift in the family. -- JILTED GUEST