GayPatriot

The Internet home for American gay conservatives.

Powered by Genesis

eHarmony Forced to Provide Same-sex Dating Services

November 20, 2008 by GayPatriotWest

Will the attempt of the gay activists to impose equality through the courts never cease?

Not content with the numerous websites offering to match him with a male partner, a gay New Jersey man sued eHarmony, a dating service catering to Christians, because it would not match him with a male partner.

I guess maybe I should sue to make sure they provide services for Jews.  And while I’m at it, maybe we’ll have a Christian sue Jdate, “The Leading Jewish Singles Network.”

This is nothing more than a nuisance lawsuit.  He just felt hurt because a website offered dating services for heterosexuals, but not for him.  His plea for equality has succeeded.  With the help of the New Jersey Attorney General, he forced eHarmony to settle.*  It will now offer a companion site for same-sex matches.

eHarmony has now lost its freedom to offer the kind of dating services its founder wished to provide.  Commenting on a similar suit well over a year ago, I wrote:

The issue here is freedom. It’s a shame that in their zeal to root out all discrimination (or perceived discrimination), some gay activists seek to undermine the freedom of others. Their freedom to speak as they will, to associate with whom they choose and to seek romance with the types of people with whom they hope to find intimacy.

Just as eHarmony should be free to focus on heterosexual romance, so should gay.com be free to promote gay relationships.

What is it which so upsets this man about a service which caters to heterosexuals? So what? We don’t see straight people trying to gain access to services which cater to those seeking same-sex relationships.

Michelle suggests that maybe they should try to gain access to such services:

Perhaps heterosexual men and women should start filing lawsuits against gay dating websites and undermine their business. Coerced tolerance and diversity-by-fiat cut both ways.

Without such suits, it would be freedom for me, but not for thee.

——–

*Like Michelle, I wish they hadn’t settled, but Theodore Olson, attorney for eHarmony founder Neil Clark Warren, said:

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.

Filed Under: Freedom, Gay PC Silliness

Comments

  1. American Elephant says

    November 20, 2008 at 6:30 am - November 20, 2008

    I haaaaate sh*t like this. Hate hate hate hate hate! Not just gays, but when women sue to be included in a club or gym that wants to be all men. And yes, I’m consistent, if someone wants a race-based club that should be allowed too (actually, it is, but only if you’re black or another minority)

    Whatever happened to the freedom of association in this country?

    I dont care how many courts disagree with me, no one has the right to force me to associate with anyone I dont want to.

    I would LOVE to see retaliation. Get a buncha Southern Baptists and have them sue gay.com, iinvade the gay bars and gyms and hell, send em to to the sex clubs. And if this guy employs anyone, go apply for a job with him and then sue based on religious discrimination.

    I too wish eHarmony had stuck with the lawsuit. I would sooner shut down my business than be forced by spoiled rotten childish liberal thugs to make it into something it was never intended to be.

  2. Pat says

    November 20, 2008 at 7:34 am - November 20, 2008

    Dan, I agree with you here. Even if, by law, eHarmony was being discriminatory, the lawsuit is frivilous. There are plenty of dating services that cater to straight and gay persons, and plenty that cater to gay persons only.

    But I will also say that if a straight person wants to sue to have the right for dating services on, say, gay.com, go for it.

  3. Julie the Jarhead says

    November 20, 2008 at 7:35 am - November 20, 2008

    Holy cr@p … there are plenty of gay-friendly dating sites! Just get off your tushie and pound those keys! eHarmony.com? No way … I think the guy who does the ads is kind of creepy.

    Try tangowire.com. Look me up — I’m julikell.

  4. V the K says

    November 20, 2008 at 7:55 am - November 20, 2008

    This wasn’t about fairness, or access to another dating site. This was about a gay man looking for self-validation by means of an “in your face” rebuke to a Christian-oriented company.

  5. The Livewire says

    November 20, 2008 at 8:11 am - November 20, 2008

    I would Julie, but I’m not your type 😛

    I’m upset by this too. It’s an assault on the right to property, and on some levels, free association. E-harmony’s known as a Christian site, yes? Do they now have to accept Satanists?

  6. DaveP. says

    November 20, 2008 at 8:15 am - November 20, 2008

    The issue isn’t access, and the issue isn’t “intolerance”. The issue is forcing yor will on someone else, and taking their money at the same time.

  7. Jason says

    November 20, 2008 at 9:05 am - November 20, 2008

    I can’t believe eHarmony has folded like a cheap lawn chair. This law suit is ridiculous! It’s the equivalent of suing Victoria’s Secret for not carrying and selling men’s boxer shorts. This country has gone berserk with it’s political correctness.

    perhaps the straits should start suing gay dating services for not catering to their needs.

  8. melmaguire says

    November 20, 2008 at 9:13 am - November 20, 2008

    Amen. I’ve said many times before that it doesn’t matter who isn’t provided for in a business, if that business is targeting a specific demographic, it’s their perogative and they’re free to do so. If Aryan Nation wanted to start a dating website for skinheads, it’s their right. If the Black Panthers wanted to start a dating site for blacks only, they’re free to do so! The NJ AG should have known better. He has just inextricably linked himself to the first step in tearing down our First Amendment rights, and I’m disgusted with the whole thing.

  9. Jeb says

    November 20, 2008 at 9:16 am - November 20, 2008

    Can we get the straight women to stand back from the bar dancers in our bars? We are not allowed in La Bare or Chippendale’s….where do i sign up to sue someone!

    Thanks for getting me fired up A. E.

    By the way is there a match services for Texas Gay Conservatives and American Elephants?

    🙂

    Jeb n TEX

  10. Jeb says

    November 20, 2008 at 9:19 am - November 20, 2008

    GPW,

    Please don’t get jealous. You know you are the only one for me…..

    By the way, I could arrange a meeting with Kinky Friedman…..you know Texas Jews are BIGGER!

    Everything IS BIGGER in TX.

    Jeb

  11. jsl says

    November 20, 2008 at 9:38 am - November 20, 2008

    Jdate doesn’t require you to be Jewish to sign up. Perfectly happy to match a goy up with the Jew of their dreams, or the non-Jew, whatever floats your boat (that you can find on the site).

  12. Yossarian says

    November 20, 2008 at 10:19 am - November 20, 2008

    I am a New York lawyer and get pissed off when I go to Texas to visit my parents because of lack of cuisine. I am going to sue Wal-Mart because they don’t constantly stock foie gras and beluga caviar

  13. Wes says

    November 20, 2008 at 10:23 am - November 20, 2008

    [quote]I would LOVE to see retaliation. Get a buncha Southern Baptists and have them sue gay.com, iinvade the gay bars and gyms and hell, send em to to the sex clubs.[/quote]

    Straight women have already invaded our bars. I get tired of being groped and asked to be a sperm donor.

  14. ILoveCapitalism says

    November 20, 2008 at 10:34 am - November 20, 2008

    More and more these days, I feel like I am living in the bad parts of Atlas Shrugged. eHarmony should close shop, rather than accept the immorality of other people dictating to them what they must provide.

  15. John says

    November 20, 2008 at 10:42 am - November 20, 2008

    I assume that this was something peculiar in New Jersey law because eHarmony has a good case in Federal court. Actually, regardless of NJ law if I remember correctly they have grounds just like the Boy Scouts did under the Constitution for the right to freedom of association. I guess they didn’t want to risk the bad PR and money. Pity.

  16. EssEm says

    November 20, 2008 at 11:03 am - November 20, 2008

    And now, as a result of this victimist brilliance, gay and lesbian people will be paying money to and making profits for the very people they accuse of intolerantly rejecting them. Bright, very bright.

    And when gays get outraged that Prop 8 ads told folks that their children would be forced to learn about homosexuality in grade school, let them remember things like this, which give the (pretty accurate) impression that gays have an insatiable desire for imposing themselves on everyone and that there is no limit or end to it.

    The next time some gay spokesman, or spokeswoman, or spokestransperson, begins a sentence with, “All we want is…”, you will know they are lying.

    It’s an old archetypal story, the victim becomes the tyrant, all the while whining the he is ever the victim. Imagine if some straight forced Daddyhunt to provide service to women looking for men? It would be Tantrums R Us.

    Do you know, for example, what the American slaves who founded Liberia did? They enslaved the local Africans and set up plantations.

    I’ll shut up now. It’s been a rough week.

  17. EssEm says

    November 20, 2008 at 11:21 am - November 20, 2008

    The next time a LGBTQI&I activist shouts to the press a sentence which begins “All we want is….”, you’ll know he/she/whatever is lying.

  18. Jimbo says

    November 20, 2008 at 11:40 am - November 20, 2008

    Jeez, Louise. That dude should’ve realized the can of worms he just opened up. Between this & the continuous violence over Prop 8 (get the eff over it, will ya?) these PC creeps are driving me to drink.

  19. Joan says

    November 20, 2008 at 11:43 am - November 20, 2008

    It’s exactly this type of expected behavior that resulted in Prop 8’s win.

  20. American Elephant says

    November 20, 2008 at 12:13 pm - November 20, 2008

    LGBTQI&I…

    Oh holy insufferable acronyms batman, every time I turn around there’s more letters on that god-forsaken thing. What the hell is I&I?

  21. American Elephant says

    November 20, 2008 at 12:18 pm - November 20, 2008

    Jeb, typical texan, flirting with everyone at once.

  22. sonicfrog says

    November 20, 2008 at 12:25 pm - November 20, 2008

    I would LOVE to see retaliation. Get a buncha Southern Baptists and have them sue gay.com, iinvade the gay bars and gyms and hell, send em to to the sex clubs. And if this guy employs anyone, go apply for a job with him and then sue based on religious discrimination.

    Second that.

    …these PC creeps are driving me to drink.

    You needed a reason?????

  23. Mike says

    November 20, 2008 at 12:30 pm - November 20, 2008

    I agree that this has just gotten out of hand. This suit was absurd. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that this guy has a problem eHarmony, and perhaps the Christian background of it’s founder, what the hell do you get out of forcing this on eHarmony?

    Although I’m not sure your solution will work, Dan. I do believe that gay.com (one example anyway) does welcome straight users.

    Jeb, is everything bigger in Texas? 😉

  24. Dave says

    November 20, 2008 at 12:44 pm - November 20, 2008

    I used to suggest to my 3 adult children to try ‘Eharmony’ to meet someone because I foolishly believed they where christian based. If they had any REAL christian values, they would have fought. Sorry kids, guess your on your own….

  25. James Kiss says

    November 20, 2008 at 1:06 pm - November 20, 2008

    but you don’t have to be jewish to join jdate, so that arguement doesn’t really stand up.

  26. timb says

    November 20, 2008 at 1:18 pm - November 20, 2008

    Dan, I agree with you here. Even if, by law, [the diner] was being discriminatory, the lawsuit is frivilous. There are plenty of [diners] that cater to [African-Americans], and plenty that cater to [white] persons only.

    There are drinking fountains EVERYWHERE. Why do colored people always try to use our drinking fountains?!?!

    As for the comment by John at 18, the Boy Scout case is an outlier, because the Boy Scouts, somehow, passed the test established by Roberts v US Jaycees (a brief run down is here).

    Simply put, unless accepting gays changes the essential character of the service, they cannot violate New Jersey law. And, given of what we seen about how…”fungible” sexual orientation is in the more conservative parts of America, allowing the Ted Haggards of the world to find true love without buying meth for hustlers seems win-win.

    I mean, unless you’re a gay prostitute hooked on meth, then it’s devastating.

  27. GayPatriotWest says

    November 20, 2008 at 1:22 pm - November 20, 2008

    Um, timb, there’s a difference between a public drinking fountain and a private dating services.

    The New Jersey law thus limits freedom. Do you then support heterosexual couples using New Jersey law to demand service from gay websites? I don’t.

    They should be free to run their business as they see fit. You disagree. Why is it you find freedom so disconcerting?

  28. Annie says

    November 20, 2008 at 2:55 pm - November 20, 2008

    Seems to me that eHarmony did not fight very hard for this. This was very winnable. Perhaps they are using this to camouflage their desire to ‘expand’. It is always about the bottom line.

  29. Peter K. says

    November 20, 2008 at 3:08 pm - November 20, 2008

    Sometimes I am so ashamed to be gay…because of sh*t like this from complete tools of the gay movement. I wonder what their reaction would be if a hetero sued Gay.com for equal inclusion?!? Guess what. These are private businesses, they can do business with whomever they damn well please. No one is “entitled” to 1 second of another person’s time or effort.

    Atlas is shrugging.

  30. Julie the Jarhead says

    November 20, 2008 at 3:12 pm - November 20, 2008

    You mean I can find a nice Jewish lady doctor on jdate? Woo hoo!

    To The Livewire: Hey, if you’re ever in Boston, look me up. I know a few gay guys.

  31. The_Livewire says

    November 20, 2008 at 3:36 pm - November 20, 2008

    *laugh* Wrong Team Julie.

    More like if I ever come to Boston, we’ll hit the bars, if you strike out with a lady, I’ll have a shot.

  32. Julie the Jarhead says

    November 20, 2008 at 4:06 pm - November 20, 2008

    Hey, sounds like a plan, The Livewire!

  33. Mark S. says

    November 20, 2008 at 4:07 pm - November 20, 2008

    E-Harmony has an easy way out of this. Just match him up to women in their system.

    They’re providing the services he’s paying for, matching individuals up with others based on eHarmony’s criteria. If he doesn’t like who they’re matching him up with (straight women), that’s not eHarmony’s problem or fault.

  34. just me says

    November 20, 2008 at 7:00 pm - November 20, 2008

    I think the guy who filed the suit looks ridiculous. It isn’t like eharmony is the only game in town.

    Also, at least when it comes dating services this is the one area where creating a niche market makes some sense.

  35. BCT says

    November 20, 2008 at 7:58 pm - November 20, 2008

    Hey American Elephant,

    I’m sorry, but your worry about being forced to “associate” with people you don’t want to mingle with is ridiculous. There is no reason why you would mingle with a gay man on a dating website unless he is in your dating pool on that website. That is the same BS that people who supported Prop 8 said: Somehow, just by homosexuals having the same rights to marry as heterosexuals, it somehow undermines all hetero marriages. What utter crap.

    Most men’s clubs no longer stop women from joining – they just make it unappealing for women to be there. Men smoking and playing pool while they drink and talk about work is not appealing, so they don’t join. Refusing business because the prospective client is gay is wrong and they should have folded. I don’t believe there should be a need for gay-only sites, just like we learned there was no need for blacks-only schools, bathrooms, hotels, etc. People are people. Stop the hate and open your minds. Why is it always the religious who are last to become enlightened?

  36. North Dallas Thirty says

    November 20, 2008 at 8:26 pm - November 20, 2008

    Stop the hate and open your minds. Why is it always the religious who are last to become enlightened?

    The cluelessness of a gay leftist in insulting religious people right after they call for others to “stop the hate and open their minds” never ceases to amaze.

    But it demonstrates really what this is about: gay bigots like BCT making excuses and rationalizations for their using the law to attack and punish people for thoughts and beliefs they don’t like.

  37. David J says

    November 20, 2008 at 8:53 pm - November 20, 2008

    THE NEXT LAWSUIT WILL BE…

    …”underrepresentation”. Some gay whiner is going to claim that gays are ten percent of the population and therefore should also be ten percent of the eHarmony pool. If the actual percentage is less than this expected value, then a lawsuit will be filed claiming that discrimination still exists because gays are underrepresented in the dating pool and therefore eHarmony will need to institute additional policies and incentives to bring that percentage up to standards.

    Think this is outlandish? It seems to be a logical outcome considering the history of “affirmative action”.

  38. SoCalRobert says

    November 20, 2008 at 9:28 pm - November 20, 2008

    So when will gay.com start doing straight matching? (Maybe they do).

    I think this guy has a point… I can’t handle hot & spicy foods so when I go into, say, an Indian restaurant, I find my menu choices limited. Discrimination against people with delicate digestive systems!

    Speaking of heartburn…

  39. SoCalRobert says

    November 20, 2008 at 9:29 pm - November 20, 2008

    Filtered.

  40. jebntex says

    November 21, 2008 at 12:01 am - November 21, 2008

    well folks I guess we are sliding down the proverbial slope….hopefully right into the arms of a gay, conservative,Jewish,doctor who was a boy scout that likes long walks on the beach….

    Oh and to answer the BIG question….it IS my experience “everything is bigger in Texas”

    jebntex

  41. American Elephant says

    November 21, 2008 at 12:24 am - November 21, 2008

    hmmm

    BCT,

    I hate to point out the blatantly obvious (ok, no I don’t, in this case I relish it), but transacting business with someone is an association.

    And sorry, but liberty is far more enlightened than the statism you favor.

    As always it is liberals who are the last to become enlightened.

    You know what you call an enlightened liberal, BCT? A conservative.

  42. ThatGayConservative says

    November 21, 2008 at 2:18 am - November 21, 2008

    Oh holy insufferable acronyms batman, every time I turn around there’s more letters on that god-forsaken thing.

    I still wanna know why lesbians get top billing.

  43. Pat says

    November 21, 2008 at 7:19 am - November 21, 2008

    Um, timb, there’s a difference between a public drinking fountain and a private dating services.

    The New Jersey law thus limits freedom. Do you then support heterosexual couples using New Jersey law to demand service from gay websites? I don’t.

    They should be free to run their business as they see fit. You disagree. Why is it you find freedom so disconcerting?

    Dan, I agree with you, but I want to play Devil’s Advocate, since I am trying to find a good reason why the diner scenario (not a public drinking fountain or schools) is different than the eHarmony.

    Sure, back in the 50s and 60s a white person could have sued for access to a black customers only diner. But I’m guessing not many did.

    In any case, there are good things to fight for. Being able to be matched up in eHarmony is not one of them.

  44. Pat says

    November 21, 2008 at 7:20 am - November 21, 2008

    I still wanna know why lesbians get top billing.

    I don’t know. But it’s another example of an unnecessary thing to fight for as well.

  45. The Livewire says

    November 21, 2008 at 8:10 am - November 21, 2008

    ugh, forgot about the ‘little Greek Island’ filter.

    BTW anyone know how that lawsuit in Europe went?

  46. American Elephant says

    November 21, 2008 at 9:02 am - November 21, 2008

    I still wanna know why lesbians get top billing.

    ladies first?

  47. American Elephant says

    November 21, 2008 at 9:06 am - November 21, 2008

    Perhaps the Gay Patriot filter is run by the Chi-coms, I seem to remember a news story — something about them filtering out anything having to do with *quietly spells the dirty word* l-e-s-b-i-a-n-s.

  48. Mr. Moderate says

    November 21, 2008 at 10:22 am - November 21, 2008

    Which gay websites are barring straight people from using them? I haven’t heard of such policies. While a straight guy won’t find much female tail on Manhunt, nothing stops them from trying. eHarmony on the other hand specific prohibited gay people from using the service.

    Your examples about Christians suing a Jewish organization for access and the like are cute. Ironically anti-discrimination laws do protect discrimination on the basis of religion but not on sexual orientation.

  49. The Livewire says

    November 21, 2008 at 2:16 pm - November 21, 2008

    Ok they go first because GBLT would sound like a sandwich.

    That and sorry, women are better looking then men.

    Says the fat white straight guy 😉

  50. timb says

    November 21, 2008 at 3:30 pm - November 21, 2008

    Um, timb, there’s a difference between a public drinking fountain and a private dating services.

    The New Jersey law thus limits freedom. Do you then support heterosexual couples using New Jersey law to demand service from gay websites? I don’t.

    They should be free to run their business as they see fit. You disagree. Why is it you find freedom so disconcerting?

    Actually, as mentioned in the non-sarcatic section of my post, the New Jersey law has been implicitly upheld in the Jaycees case and explicitly in the Boy Scouts case.

    Swing and a miss for the freedom lover who wants to make sure “freedom” (as he sees it) trump “equality” (as seen by the US Judicial system and a gay guy is New jersey who wants a compatible date…oh the horror!).

    On a serious note, what you call freedom other people call discrimination. If you don’t like the law, then go repeal it, but Eharmony was correct when it ran away. Its case was a loser.

  51. The Livewire says

    November 24, 2008 at 7:49 am - November 24, 2008

    timb,

    As I’ve said before, discrimination, in and of itself, is not wrong. If Dan hit on me, I’d be flattered and bemused, but I’d turn him down because I prefer women. That’s discrimination.

    If I choose to go to Subway because I think Jersey Mikes is overpriced, that’s discrimination.

    If I run a Kosher deli, I’m discrimination against the guy coming in wanting a ham sandwich. Worse, it’s discrimination based on religion! *gasp*

  52. timb says

    November 24, 2008 at 12:49 pm - November 24, 2008

    And our legal system exists solely in your definition of words, Livewire, and not in mine or, Heaven forbid, the American judicial system. All hail, Livewire, the definer of of all!

    Oh, and to be perfectly honest, if you knew the difference between “discrimination” and “preference,” I’d be surprised, although you have opened it up enough that those nice people in Oxford can stop serving African-Americans. Nice work

  53. The Livewire says

    November 24, 2008 at 1:30 pm - November 24, 2008

    Please illuminate me oh great timb…

    What is the difference, between positions in the dictionary? Or do you always have to resort to tired trite racist examples to score points.

    perhaps you’d like to complain to Bruce that his filter discriminates against ‘little Greek island’ women and holds them in limbo?

  54. The Livewire says

    November 24, 2008 at 1:35 pm - November 24, 2008

    Here let me help.

    Discriminate: to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features

    Prefer: to like better or best

    I prefer steak, thus I discriminate against tofu.

    *yawn* next straw man please?

  55. JC, Paris says

    November 24, 2008 at 3:07 pm - November 24, 2008

    Oh, hell. Maybe McKinley was just looking for another gay Christian. There’s more than one, you know. And they can be pretty hard to find.

  56. Vivian says

    November 25, 2008 at 2:53 am - November 25, 2008

    #40–I was going to make this same suggestion, but, um, you beat me to the punch! So, yes, let Eharmony send each gay male a nice heterosexual female date, with matching 29 Dimensions of compatibility, of course!

Categories

Archives