eHarmony to provide same-sex matches!

One thing that always bothered me about giving my money to eHarmony for a subscription was that it refused to match gays and lesbians. But that era is now SO OVER, thanks to New Jersey resident Eric McKinley and New Jersey's Civil Rights Division! As the Associated Press article, "eHarmony Agrees to Provide Same-Sex Matches" (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-eHarmony-Gays.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss) explains, when McKinley tried to join eHarmony in 2005, he couldn't get past the first screen because "men seeking men" wasn't listed as an option. He filed a complaint against eHarmony with New Jersey's Division on Civil Rights (part of the state's attorney general's office) -- and eHarmony has finally agreed to settle! As this longer L.A. Times article by David Colker (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-eharmony20-2008nov20,0,1772906.story) states, not only will eHarmony launch a new same-sex matching site called Compatible Partners (http://www.compatiblepartners.net/) by March 31, 2009, they "also must give the first 10,000 same-sex registrants a free six-month subscription. 'That was one of the things I asked for,' said Eric McKinley."

The Associated Press article also says eHarmony has been the target of lawsuits before, including others who alleged discrimination against gays and lesbians. In addition, it says that a California man "sued eHarmony in 2005 for refusing to help him find a date. The company said there was one good reason for that: He was still married. That case was dropped on the eve of trial."

Ha! Can you imagine being married to THAT guy? "Honey, I've decided to sue eHarmony because they won't let me find a mistress." Talk about nerve!