Under terms of the agreement, the complaint is dismissed, and neither the company nor its founder, Dr. Neil Clark Warren, admits to any liability. Under the settlement agreement, eHarmony, Inc. can create a new or differently-named Web site to provide same-sex matching services, but the new Web site’s home page must identify it as an affiliate of, or a site provided by, eHarmony, Inc.
Pro-family groups have made appeals to Dr. Neil Clark Warren, the founder of eHarmony to ask that he reconsider his agreement. Dr. Warren formerly used to work for Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, a leading pro-family advocacy group.
The case was originally filed by Eric McKinley, a gay match-seeker from New Jersey.eHarmony, Inc agreed in the settlement to provide a new service for match-seekers identifying themselves as “male seeking a male” or “female seeking a female” by March 31, 2009.
Pro-family groups are encouraging Christians to patronize other dating sites that don’t compromise their vision or values so easily. Singlebelievers.net, for example, is a new dating site that is committed to the traditional view of marriage, and thus, does not promote same-sex dating. Profiles are reviewed before they ever are posted, and individuals seeking same-sex partners are encouraged to look elsewhere. Moreover, Singlebelievers.net actually facilitates Christian singles meeting by sponsoring in church “mixers” in groups, taking much of the anxiety and pressure out of dating.
