I never knew that guy was one of them Evangelical folk.

As stupid as this is, I don't see why eHarmony doesn't have the right to do this as a private company (then again, as despicable it is I don't oppose the act of private companies denying employment based on a characteristic beyond the control of humans, so what do I know?).

Any of you legal folk want to set me straight?

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070531/tc_ ... ny_gays_dc

eHarmony sued in California for excluding gays

By Jill Serjeant Thu May 31, 7:10 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The popular online dating service eHarmony was sued on Thursday for refusing to offer its services to gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

A lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, who was denied access to eHarmony because she is gay.

Lawyers bringing the action said they believed it was the first lawsuit of its kind against eHarmony, which has long rankled the gay community with its failure to offer a "men seeking men" or "women seeking women" option.

They were seeking to make it a class action lawsuit on behalf of gays and lesbians excluded from the dating service.

eHarmony was founded in 2000 by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren and had strong early ties with the influential religious conservative group Focus on the Family.

It has more than 12 million registered users, and heavy television advertising has made it one of the nation's biggest Internet dating sites.

The company said the allegations of discrimination against gays were false and reckless.

"The research that eHarmony has developed, through years of research, to match couples has been based on traits and personality patterns of successful heterosexual marriages," it said in a statement.

"Nothing precludes us from providing same-sex matching in the future. It's just not a service we offer now based upon the research we have conducted," eHarmony added.

According to the lawsuit, Carlson, who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, tried to use the site's dating services in February 2007. When she was denied access, she wrote to eHarmony saying that its anti-gay policy was discriminatory under California law but the company refused to change it.

"Such outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business open to the public in this day and age," she said.

Carlson's lawyer Todd Schneider said the lawsuit was "about changing the landscape and making a statement out there that gay people, just like heterosexuals, have the right and desire to meet other people with whom they can fall in love."

Carlson's lawyers expect a significant number of gays and lesbians to join the class action, which seeks to force eHarmony to end its policy as well as unspecified damages for those denied eHarmony services based on their sexual orientation.

I find it even more absurd that they are seeking damages. How much did they miss out by not having an incredibly awkward internet plied date?

Yes, and it is going to be very difficult for them to prove discrimination occurred. All they need is one statistician who can state that eHarmony's matching system can only be normed to heterosexual couples. Pointless. If anything an enterprising homosexual business should capitalize on the niche market.

Freaking ridiculous.

As a sidenote: a gay pub in Melbourne has just legally banned heterosexuals and lesbians from drinking in it.

Sounds fairly reasonable to me. Everyone knows that by definition, heterosexuals are less classy anyways. You wouldn't want them bringing down the style.

True but you couldn't do it the other way around.

heh, yeah, that's true as well. humankind is so fucked up.

Remember when those guys sued Hooters for not hiring them as wait-staff?

Funnily enough I once got refused entry to a gay club because it was 'members only' night which I found really strange because my girlfriend was already inside and she wasn't a member. When I questioned the door bitch she told me that it wasn't really and that is just what they say to keep hetero's away and that she thought I was straight - apparently I didn't look 'gay' enough...

I would like to know how that particular bar is going to sort out the straights from the gays... Maybe you have to blow the owner before they'll let you in?

ask your girlfriend.

I know what you are saying, however all other venues are predominately considered heterosexual hangouts, I don't see what is so wrong about providing a venue where homosexual people (men especially) can feel comfortable without being a circus freak show for straight people. Sometimes it's nice to go somewhere with my girlfriend without idiots asking me 'so what do you guys do together' and or having strangers asking me what sexual practices I get up to in my own home. Not always but sometimes being a gay person in a 'hetero' bar can make you feel like public property.
Sorry for the rant, it's totally off topic.

Yeah but no one is telling you can or can't go there. It is your perogative where you go. And I can only imagine how much of an uproar there would be if a 'straight' bar refused to let the gays in or refused them service

yep, I hear what you are saying however there are 'straight' venues that you might go to but you wouldn't dare be 'out' with your partner.

Yeah so then you don't go to them, it is that simple. It doesn't mean that they should then be forced to accomodate any gay people that want to go there. The issue here is a societal one not a venue one. You can't make people not be dickheads no matter what their sexuality.

The stupid thing about this particular case is I don't think this woman can ask a business to provide a service that they don't want to. If she is that concerned about it she should start her own freaking gay dating website, rake in the cash and shut the fuck up about it!

yeah ok, I consider the two to be very seperate issues, so from my personal perspective almost every non-gay bar I go to I don't interact with you in the way that I would like to. I don't like having to check my behaviour for the saek of others or myself.

I agree with you about the internet dating woman, you can't expect people to include everyone in their business plans and she can really go out and find a million other sites that cater to 'the gays'. This is kinda my point though, I don't expect all pubs to be 'gay friendly' (fuckin hate that term) I don't expect all dating websites to accomodate gays so why can't gay people have 'gay bars' to themselves?

They should. Eharmony has every right to exclude whoever they want from their company. I hope they win, and win epic-style.

Any bar has any right to exclude whoever they want. Want to start a roughneck bar banning gays? Why not?!? Want to start a gay bar banning straights and female gay couples? Sure! If you're doing it wrong, let the free market decide, not the government and all the guns it carries with it. Those guns are to defend us, not to point at us and demand that we surrender our freedoms.

But that is your choice not to. If you alter your behaviour to accomodate other people and their 'issues' that is your own choice. You have the choice as to which bars you go to and to how you behave when you are there

eharmony doesn't offer a "men seeking dogs" or "men seeking three toed sloths" either? can i sue for punitive damages????

Usually, I'm really pissed off about any kind of discrimination, but in this case, homosexuals should count their blessings.

EHarmony is a joke.

I remember a long time ago here, someone submitted a form as a religious person, and it told them the system could find matches and they they were strong healthy individuals. Yet, if you had the same personality characteristics but were an athiest, it'd return that the system couldn't help you and that you had personal development to do. It's a crock of shit.