Implies all site owners should have accounts
eHarmony Settles Lawsuit, Starts Gay Site
Set to Launch Same-Sex Dating Service
eHarmony is releasing a new same-sex matching service starting by the end of March. This service is the product of legal problems the company has been dealing with out of New Jersey and California. A gay man in Jersey sued the company for not catering to same-sex relationships as a violation of his rights in the state of New Jersey, and earlier in the year, a gay woman from San Francisco filed a suit against the company for being denied access to eHarmony's service because of her sexuality. Reuters reports:
The settlement was the result of a discrimination complaint filed by Eric McKinley against eHarmony in 2005, which will be dismissed under the settlement agreement.
eHarmony was founded in 2000 by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren and had ties with the influential religious conservative group Focus on the Family.

eHarmony issued a statement regarding the settlement and discussing the new site called Compatible Partners:
"Even though we believed that the complaint resulted from an unfair characterization of our business, we ultimately decided it was best to settle this case with the Attorney General since litigation outcomes can be unpredictable," said eHarmony, Inc. legal counsel Theodore B. Olson. "eHarmony looks forward to moving beyond this legal dispute, which has been a burden for the company, and continuing to advance its business model of serving individuals by helping them find successful, long-term relationships."
Evidently there will be no crossover between the two sites. In other words, eHarmony users will not be matched with Compatible Partners users. The two sites will maintain their own matching pools, registration information, and subscriptions. The separate matching pools are based on whether the user chooses to seek an opposite- or same-sex relationship.
Implies all site owners should have accounts
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41 Comments
About Time
Although I do not believe Separate is Equal. More suits should follow on the basis of "Dating site segregation". I am also not favoring the Name of the site and what it implies. Gays can legally get married in parts of the World and in 4 states so far in the US. Implying that they can just have a relationship without marriage, is irresponsible.
This is crazy! It's as crazy
This is crazy! It's as crazy as suing a Christian bookstore for not carrying buddist or islamic products or vice versa. If you know it doesn't cater to your beliefs then go somewhere that does.
This news hurts on so many
This news hurts on so many levels. In no way do I promote hatred towards anyone. But people have been winning some VERY unconstitutional lawsuits. And that is unfair. What law states that refusing business to someone on the account of your own personal religilous belief is considered illegal? There isn't one. Businesses have the right to refuse service at any time, unless it is a health care issue. And Dr. Neil Clark Warren has shown his true colors. He is, was, and always will be financially motivated and this proves it. If he truly was a devout follower of his so-called religion, he would have NEVER added same-sex dating as an option. And before you try to tell me that I'm homophobic and a religious nut, let me assure you that I know some really cool gay people and consider them friends. This whole thing is about another form of discrimination: one that goes against a person's religious beliefs. And it's also about someone who obviously had the intention to sell out from day one. This is opening a can of worms, possibly even a Pandora's Box.
Another Judicial Blunder ...
I wish that Dr. Clark hadn't succumbed to pressures to settle -- especially since his company wasn't (as I've read in many of the comments here) in violation of any law. It really disturbs me when I see this kind of thing happening in our "so-called" free society. We're creating a society where freedom is only afforded to some and not all. I'm afraid for our country and our children. Not only is this unfair, it is downright criminal. I hope the new site withers and dies -- not because I want Dr. Clark to fail, but I want people to see that none of us has the right to force anyone to do or not do -- whatever.
a lot of people are appalled
a lot of people are appalled that they "folded" to legal pressure, maybe they werent afraid of losing a lawsuit but rather they were tired of the negative press? even other heterosexual dating sites targeted them for that very reason. personally i dont think they needed to add a gay site in order to bring in more users. if they dont believe having a gay option on their site is necessary, however bigoted and small minded it may be, it is their choice.
It's pretty obvious to me
It's pretty obvious to me that e-harmony has wanted to make this financial move for quite some time, but didn't want to alienate their Christian fundamentalist clients.
A pretty good ploy, and shallow minded people will continue to support them.
The plaintiff's proper
The plaintiff's proper response to the hetero-only rule should have been, "I'll take my business elsewhere." That's how capitalism works.
AY-MEN. I am a Gay man, but
AY-MEN. I am a Gay man, but I was still taken aback that 1) someone sued Eharmony when there are so many dating sites for same sex coupels to turn to, and 2) Eharmony buckled under and settled the suit. In no way is anyone, save a medical care provider, obligated to provide services to every single person darkening their doorstep, and in no way am I obligated to spend my $ at a business whose practices i disagree with. A far better response would have been to set up an even better dating site for Gay and straight people.
Can a straight man sue ManHunt.com or Adam4Adam for failing to provide women for him to meet? Can a Judaica gift and art store be sued for failing to carry crucifixes or the New Testament?
Is this guy for real?
I'm like everyone else these days, all for the changes in rights etc., but when will this kind of rediculous amount of sueing ever end? Seriously, I like the earlier comment about sueing Ford because they don't carry Honda parts - perhaps one day they might, but for now, I've got the feeling Ford will stick to Ford parts. Unfortunately it seems the legal system gets swamped with this kind of thing all the time, when real justice needs to be brought about in other cases.
I am going to sue Ford for
I am going to sue Ford for not carrying parts for my Honda. It is downright discriminatory toward us Honda owners. I should have the same rights and priveleges at their dealership as a Ford owner. This country has become ignorant and embarrassing. I guess we will see moe of this.
What discrimination?
Uh, you're comparing apples to oranges here. You were not BORN a Honda driver. Homosexuality is inborn, just as heterosexuality is. If I as a gay man cannot access the same rights and privileges as a straight man because of my sexual orientation, then that is discrimination. But if you're a Honda owner calling Ford for replacement parts, either get the RIGHT phone number for Honda or go out and buy a Ford. This makes about as much sense as smokers crying over no-smoking laws; you are no more born to smoke than you were born to drive a Honda.
Check your logic. THINK for once in your life!
Completely illogical. You
Completely illogical. You should go back to school (if you ever went in the first place) and study philosophy, jurisprudence, and logic.
matt, garrett and adam- I
matt, garrett and adam- I wish more people thought like you guys...I completely agree with you.
Respecting ones preference
Gay Rights
Gays have rights too. So long as they are not doing any harm, we should let them be. We should learn to co-exist with one another.
I'm bi-sexual so when I've
Laws
Fortunately anti-discrimination laws are implement to prevent a protected class from exclusion. Because if left to haters own devices, thats what they do, hate. They do it in the workplace, and teach it to their young. So, if you understand this concept, then you should understand why if you are in business, you have to obey the laws of the land in which you do business. California include homosexuals as a part of its constitution to enjoy all the rights giving to everyone who lives here. This law applies across the board, not just when you feel like it.
It's people like you that
It's people like you that give 'being gay' a bad rap. And it's people like you that make me want to hate gays. And if I want to hate gays, guess what? That's my right. So keep it up...
gay rights
With the current debate regarding Proposition 8, I think more and more people will see changes in the way we treat people. Gender discrimination is surely a major offense against any person.
Yet another example of what is to come
If you want to see a live version of the liberal agenda and possibly what is to come in the next few years, look no further than this story. You have a private business started by a Christian man. He has a selected target market - heterosexual singles - that he is marketing a product towards. He does not post any discriminating, derogatory, offensive or otherwise hateful content on his website - he just targets his intented target market. Then add a gay guy from Jersey and a judge and you get this. I know this did not go to trial but the judge should have thrown this out before it ever got to this point. Should this have come to trial and the gay guy had won, do you have any idea how socialist this is? The basis of socialism is that we the people are stupid and make stupid decisions, but judges and government bureaucrats make smart decisions and therefor we the stupid should let those smart bureaucrats make all our decisions for us. Name one government program that the government "runs well." The answer is nothing, unless your version of "runs well" means that it hasn't come to a grinding halt. I have a small business and the only people who should be telling me what marketing decisions to make are my stakeholders. Our economy could actually work if the government would just stay out as much as possible.
I agree
I think what you say is the truth. While I'm glad there is going to be a gay site like Eharmony (and hopefully lives up to the original), I found the idea of suing this site (and man) completely stupid. I emailed long ago about the site seemingly only geared for straight couples. I was not shunned or hated in the process. I received a nice and meaningful reply that this site was not geared for gay or bisexual couples. I was fine with that, a little sad, but fine. No one should have tried suing him, as he was only connecting straight people together. I also agree that the judge should have thrown this out. It's like going back to the McDonald's issues---hot coffee. Well DUH!! Just because you are not bright enough to understand it, or it doesn't include you---that does NOT give you the right to force it to change. These types of people are going to make the world even worse than it has already become. And it seems it's not going to change any time soon. I'm glad I don't know anyone as sue happy as these people.
Problem with your argument
You fail to recognize that the internet is a public trust and, just like the brodcast airwaves, is owned by the people. Thus, it is subject to equal rights under the law. You can not offer a sevice that does not allow for EVERY person that accesses it, otherwise it is discrimination which is illegal.
I think that Eharmony should be forced to allow a man to search for a man and a woman to search for a woman, or allow people to just do an open search for people with similar interest.
They (e-harmony) are forcing people to only seek people of the opposite sex. You may be surprised to find a person of the same sex as you on the site that has very similar interests, and begin a great friendship with them.
It is a bit of narrow mindedness that thinks someone would not allow this into their thoughts.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free excercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of sheech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petion the government for a redress of grievances.
- That is the 1st Amendment, we have the right to practice of religion, speech and press. If that exercise is to cater to straight people so be it. There are plenty of Gay sites catering to gay desires and this their right, run the business the way you like. Homosexual groups like GLAD and others; are seeking out Doctors, Adoption Agencies and businesses; that do NOT believe in fertilizing lesbians, giving kids to sodomites and Christian businesses to legally force them to do what the Gays believe. Should Gay sites Have to Have Bible scriptures on them, giving Christians equal time and space. Should a burger joint be forced to serve Pizza and Chinese, to give equal time to Italian and Asian food? No... We have the right to beleive, speak, run a buiness the way we want..
The gay groups are stretching the laws to get thier way and liberal Judges are just doing what they want, no matter the Constitution and law.
We the 96% majority must make a stand, because what they want next is to teach our kids about their sexual desire, in hopes of recruiting them. In court or face to face we must make a stand.
Hehehehe...you just gotta
Hehehehe...you just gotta love the ignorance!
NO. you are wrong! No one is
NO. you are wrong! No one is forcing anyone to do anything. If you are gay, why even bother with eHarmony. This is not a gay hostile site, it is just not intended for gays. Do you get pissed off when you go to the grocery store and can't find brake pads for your '34 Oldsmobile? The store is not hostile to cars, it is just intended to serve a different purpose. This is just another instance of special "rights" for a minority agenda and having "gay is ok" mentality forced upon the general population. Mark my words, in 50 years, thiese same arguments will be used to approve of pedophiles and the "right" to marry 7 year olds. Don't believe me, look at the history of the gay "rights" movement aand the arguments they have used to get where they are. Gay is not ok, I am not homophobic nor a bigot, just someone who maintains a set of morals that have been around for a very long time. They say the right is driving a wedge in our society, when it is the liberal society that continues to erode traditional moral values and continues to move further and further to the left. It only seems the right is getting more extreme, because from the liberals unending movement further left, it seems that way.
IN AGREEMENT
I agree AMERICA was already founded we don't need to do it again in order for AMERICA to succeed we must go with the foundation we received originally and not change it the founders of AMERICA they are being dishonored and disgraced by how we in AMERICA are living our lives no morals whatsoever
agreement
In addition to that, there's a dating site just for geeks. Shall the tech-newbies be catered to?
great post
Any private business has the right to target whatever section of society they choose. Those that fall outside the target need not sue; that is ridiculous and frivolous. And for the record eHarmony was found to not be in violation of the discrimination law for which is was sued.
Tired of Lawsuits
Until you've been on the recieving end of a frivolous lawsuit, it's difficult to imagine what a financial and potentially psychological burden it is to your business.
This is another one of those situations where I shake my head and think, any time someone is fortunate enough to be successful, there are sharks swimming and waiting to go in for the kill.
I won't repeat all of the other arguments posted previously. They were spot on.
I have friends who are gay and a sister who is gay. There are plenty of sites out there who cater to their needs for online dating. This lawsuit was a personal vendetta against the founder. I don't necessarily believe in his hardline religious beliefs, but my god the guy has a right to cater to the whatever audiences he wishes.
I hope this new service is wildly successful and makes him even more millions. It's the least he deserves for the time, effort and money this lawsuit has drained from the company.
PLEASE - Enough!! Can't
PLEASE - Enough!!
Can't these whining complaing law suit happy 'Queer's just go off to some Queer bar in W. Hollywood somwhere and drink themselves into oblivion. They chose their jaded abnormal lifestyle, then they want to sue everyone that doesn't accept them! Notice I sadi Queers, now sure that's going to piss off a lot of them, but that's what they were referred to for years, they changed the name to Gays so it would sound happy and fun. The word Queer is far more applicable as it states the fact, weird and abnormal. Now here's the real hard fact and upsetting situation:
It's one thing for a group of people who have self chosen to live a jaded or abnormal lifestyle, but when these ranting homosexuals want to be able to force their jaded and abnormal lifestyles on society and expect automatic acceptance it's time to say 'Enough!'. Then what's even more discusting, immoral and frightening, women want to marry women and men want to marry men then adopt a poor vulnerable child who has no ability to say 'No', no choice in his/her future and would be subject to be 'Forced' into an abnormal lifestyle filled with confusion and dysfunction.
Fact, men can't birth children with men and women can't birth a child with women! So what right do these people who have chosen to go off into some jaded sexual path have in forcing a young child into their lifestyle without any opportunity to grow up Normal?!
Enough is Enough with this 'Poor Pity Party' whining from a group of people who have chosen to alienate themselves from society and go off on some sexual perversive and jaded lifestyle path!
The problem is, many government officials are too concerned about votes to voice this fact that almost all of them agree on. The U.S. of A. is a finished country from what it once stood for, morals, ethics and dececy of fair play have been thrown away for fear of votes.
When will America ever wake up to reality. If homosexuals cannot naturally birth children, then they have NO RIGHT to adopt them!
Instead of Whining, protesting and filing suits, they need to seek some help!
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