eHarmony Finally Goes Gay

by Michael Jones · 2008-11-19 13:19:00 UTC
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eHarmonyeHarmony, always a stickler for not serving the online LGBT dating community, has finally caved in and has agreed to start serving gay and lesbian couples.

Per the AP:

Online dating service eHarmony said Wednesday it will launch a new Web site which caters to same-sex singles as part of a discrimination settlement with New Jersey's Civil Rights Division.

The settlement is the result of a complaint New Jersey resident Eric McKinley filed against the online matchmaker in 2005. McKinley, 46, said he was shocked when he tried to sign up for the dating site but couldn't get past the first screen because there was no option for men seeking men.

"It's very frustrating and it's very humiliating to think that other people can do it and I can't," he said. "And the only reason I can't is because I'm a gay man. That's very hurtful."

Wow...that last quote from Eric McKinley certainly hits it home.  That's kind of how I feel about marriage in California.  And, well, marriage in 47 other states.

eHarmony didn't admit any liability in the lawsuit, in part because their founder, Neil Clark Warren, never believed that he was discriminating against gays and lesbians by excluding them from the Web site.  Still, rather than face the expensive onslaught of litigation (and a likely losing verdict), eHarmony chose to settle this case and start opening their online doors to gays and lesbians.

Their new Web site will be called Compatible Partners.  Sounds a little like a bad soap opera, but nonetheless, it's good to see eHarmony finally ending their discriminatory policies.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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