eHarmony Sued For Excluding Gays

The online dating site eHarmony was sued on Thursday for refusing to offer its services to gays, lesbians and bisexuals. eHarmony does not offer a "men seeking men" or "women seeking women" option when users register or search for potential partners.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, who claims she was denied access to eHarmony because she is gay. eHarmony has strong ties to the right-wing religious organization Focus on the Family.

Carlson wrote 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."

Schneider expects a significant number of gays and lesbians to join the class action. In addition to seeking unspecified damages for those denied eHarmony services based on their sexual orientation, the suit seeks to force eHarmony to end its discriminatory policy.

eHarmony was founded by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren and has more than 12 million registered users.

The company denies all allegations, saying "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."

"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," they said.