eHarmony Sued

One of the internet's biggest online dating sites, eHarmony.com, is being sued for refusing to offer matchs for gays. The site, founded by evangelical christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren, matches men and women together for those who can't seem to find the time to sit down and get to know somone. It's sort of speed dating, only through the internet. It wasn't created to find a one night stand like some other sites on the web, but to try and help people who cant seem to find "the right one." When I say the site helps people to find "the right one," I should say it helps you find the right one... so long as you're straight.

There are a number of online dating sites and many of them cater to both the straight and gay community, however eHarmony.com is not one of them. Knowing Dr. Neil Clark Warren's religious views, it seems clear why his site does not involve gay matches. His beliefs influenced the way he chose to set up the site and perform matches. When Linda Carlson went to eHarmony to look for a match, she found there was no woman seeking woman option, or man seeking man for that matter. Linda decided to sue because she feels that eHarmony is discriminating based on sexual orientation.

With all the websites out there I would think that she would have just moved on to another site, but she has filed a class action lawsuit against eHarmony.

I haven't found anything on the web yet, but yesterday I heard on the radio that eHarmony was, to try and avoid a court battle, planning on releasing another site for the gay community. Possibly named "partners.com", the website would be run by the same company, however offer match making for gays and lesbians. I guess thats one way to solve their legal problem, but is it really addressing the issue of discrimination of sexual orientation? It would mean eHarmony would still not offer match making for gays, only a link to a sister site that would offer matches.

You can't order you're food here, but if you walk around back, we'll see what we can do.

For more information check out some of these sites.
Gay Rights Watch
Christian Examiner Online