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Gay Equality on Dating Sites Edit
eHarmony Required to Match Same-Sex Couples

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Gay Equality on Dating Sites
eHarmony Required to Match Same-Sex Couples
Gay Equality on Dating Sites - eHarmony Required to Match Same-Sex Couples (VIDEO) 2
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Gay Equality on Dating Sites - eHarmony Required to Match Same-Sex Couples (VIDEO)
eHarmony Required to Match Same-Sex Couples
 Published: Nov 22, 08
Comments: 4 Views: 1,813

In the aftermath of Proposition 8, I am pleased to announce that the gay community has made one small step forward in civil rights and breaking down the barriers of heternormative dating and marriage. How? They sued dating site eHarmony for refusing to match same-sex couples.

eHarmony lost the case; they are now required to cater to gay couples and were also hit with a $55,000 fine.

Although it may seem a minor victory, the eHarmony case demonstrates the increasing willingness for courts to judge cases in favor of the gay community, particularly when it comes to the legal status of their relationships.

A gay New Jersey man, Eric McKinley, [filed] a complaint with New Jersey's attorney general which eHarmony has just settled, paying a $50,000 fine to the state and $5,000 to McKinley. eHarmony was founded in 2000 by Neil Clark Warren, an evangelical Christian and a psychologist; he is still the company's chairman. (valleywag)

References:  online.wsj, valleywag

Filed In:  activism,  internet,  political,  pop culture,  social






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FOUR WAYS TO REACT: vote, favorite, add more examples of Gay Equality on Dating Sites or comment about eHarmony Required to Match Same-Sex Couples.

Sandra Winn on Nov 21, 08  423 Trends   1,248 Comments
As much as I am for gay rights, I don't agree with forcing websites to cater to anyone. The owner of Eharmony is a fundamentalist Christian -- even though I'm not one myself and don't agree with a lot of what they stand for it violates his rights to run his business they way that he chooses. There are tons of gay dating sites online, so I think the lawsuit was petty. It'd be like me suing an online African American site that caters to black people because they don't focus on whites.
Sandra Winn on Nov 21, 08  423 Trends   1,248 Comments 0
Jennifer Astle on Nov 21, 08  74 Trends   159 Comments
What would the story look like if eHarmony had refused to serve African Americans though? If we allow one company to ban one group for religious fundamentalist reasons, doesn't that pose a social problem? ...Sorry, I am a debater by nature.
Jennifer Astle on Nov 21, 08  74 Trends   159 Comments 0
Sandra Winn on Nov 21, 08  423 Trends   1,248 Comments
LOL, Jennifer, no need to apologize! I'm a debater by nature too. The only way I would see it as a social problem is if (for example) Eharmony was the only dating site available online and you had no where else to go and they made it exclusively for 'white, young earth creationist, evangelical christians'. Then you would have a situation much like businesses in real life when they didn't allow black people into establishments. KWIM? But that isn't the case, there are a plethora of dating sites for gay people. What if I went to their site (if I were single) and demanded that they make it possible for me to meet a heterosexual male? The same if I demanded blacksingles.com to accommodate white singles too? Or, as an unbeliever, sue a Christian run date site for not making it possible for me to find another unbeliever or person of another faith? KWIM?
Sandra Winn on Nov 21, 08  423 Trends   1,248 Comments 0
Jennifer Astle on Nov 21, 08  74 Trends   159 Comments
This is a good point, however when it comes to legal precedent it becomes a slippery slope. If, let's say, a night club didn't want to allow gay people in, they could use the argument that socializing (whether virtual or personal) is socializing, and if this site can hand pick whom they allow and who they dont, then so can this club. Whether it would fly in court is another story, but legally, the argument could then be made.
Jennifer Astle on Nov 21, 08  74 Trends   159 Comments 0

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Gay Equality on Dating Sites