Dr. Warren had in past years defended the heterosexual structure of eHarmony as based on compatibility research that dealt only with heterosexual couples.
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TRENTON, New Jersey (LifeSiteNews) -A New Jersey man has won a settlement forcing eHarmony.com, a leading dating website founded by Christian Dr. Neil Warren, to offer homosexual dating services through an equivalent website, entitled "Compatible Partners."
The settlement ended a 3-year court battle in which eHarmony was accused of discriminating against homosexuals by operating a setup that did not extend searches to include partners of the same sex. In addition to setting up the new website, the settlement requires eHarmony to advertise its new site on gay websites and include pictures of same-sex matches in the "Diversity" section of the eHarmony website.
eHarmony will also pay a settlement fee of $5,000 to the plaintiff and $50,000 in court costs. The settlement acknowledges that eHarmony was not found to have violated New Jersey law.
"Although we believed that the complaint resulted from an unfair characterization of our business, we ultimately decided it was best to settle with the Attorney General since litigation outcomes can be unpredictable," eHarmony explained in a statement, adding that they, "look forward to moving beyond this legal dispute, which has been a burden for the company."
An eHarmony lawyer also told World Net Daily that the legal battle, which began in 2005, had become financially burdensome to the company.
During the dispute last year, Chemistry.com capitalized on eHarmony's exclusivity to male-female couples. The dating site, which is configured to facilitate homosexual matches, ran an advertisement featuring a man flipping through a magazine featuring semi-nude female models. After a while he closes the magazine and declares, “Nope, still gay.” The ad then declares that he was "rejected by eHarmony." "Who knows why eHarmony has rejected over a million people looking for love?" says a woman's voice, adding that people can come to Chemistry.com “as you are.”
eHarmony said the ads were misleading and asked to have them removed, but their requests were denied.
Dr. Warren had in past years defended the heterosexual structure of eHarmony as based on compatibility research that dealt only with heterosexual couples. Warren also argued in 2005 that eHarmony was geared toward legal marriage, and therefore did not pertain to homosexual unions.
The compatibility system foundational to eHarmony was first popularized through Focus on the Family, which gave the exposure that helped launch the website to its current status as one of the most popular dating websites available.
"No one would have ever dreamed that something like this could happen here," said a MassResistance report in response to the settlement.
"This is exactly what the homosexual movement had in mind when they pushed so hard a decade ago for Civil Rights laws to include 'sexual orientation,'" it continued. "It won't end here."
Some pro-family voices are critical of the settlement decision, saying Warren kowtowed too easily to homosexual pressure.
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth wrote a strongly-worded letter to Dr. Warren chastising him for having "sold his soul (or at least eHarmony's)."
"You could have set an example to Christians and freedom-loving Americans everywhere by fighting on principle for your company’s First Amendment right not to be bullied into submission by a politically correct state bureaucracy," said LaBarbera. "Instead, you capitulated.
"In addition to hurting the cause of Christianity, you have damaged the cause of freedom and particularly religious freedom in America. It appears that eHarmony is no longer a 'match' for Integrity."
To view the official settlement, go to: http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases08/pr20081119a-eHarmony-SA...
To contact New Jersey Civil Rights Division:
PO Box 090
Trenton, NJ 08625-0090
phone 609-292-4605
New Jersey Attorney General J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo:
P.O. Box 080
Trenton, NJ 08625-0080
phone 609-292-4925
To contact eHarmony.com:
888 E. Walnut Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101
phone 626-795-4814
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LifeSiteNews.com is a non-profit Internet service dedicated to issues of culture, life, and family. It was launched in September 1997. LifeSiteNews Daily News reports and information pages are used by numerous organizations and publications, educators, professionals and political, religious and life and family organization leaders and grassroots people across North America and internationally.
Comments
Harold Olsen writes "Why should someone who owns a company be told what services they must render?" Mr. Olsen states that he is a grocery store owner. I wonder if (following his same logic) he believes he has the right to not sell groceries to homosexuals?
Paul Molinari | 10/4/2009
If you are curious about homosexuality
just say out loud now Jesus I believe
and I receive you in my heart and remember
Jesus loves you also leroyjenkins.com can
help
Tabetha | 4/22/2009
When you examine the profile for the New Jersey's Attorney General Director for discrimination issues (Mr. Vespa-Papaleo), a lot gets explained about why Eric McKinley was even allowed to use the system to harrass eHarmony in such a grotesque way:
Mr. Vespa-Papaleo serves as Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Civil Rights. He is on the Executive Board of the GLBT Rights and Labor and Employment Law Sections of the New Jersey State Bar Association. In June 2007 he was elected Chairman of the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission, following his work on amending state law to provide legal protections for sexual and gender minorities. Director Vespa-Papaleo is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association.
Born in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, Director Vespa-Papaleo became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1988. A resident of Bergen County, New Jersey, Mr. Vespa-Papaleo and his husband were married in California in June 2008.
(more details about him on the Attorney General's web site)
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