I’m fit to be tied.

Dr. Neil Clark Warren, a clinical psychologist with a Divinity degree, author of Falling in Love for All the Right Reasons, started the very successful dating service, eHarmony.com, because he knew from experience that many marriages failed because people did not really know each other before they married. He came up with a series of questions for men and women to answer in order to learn if they might be compatible before they even started dating.

Along came Eric McKinley, a gay man, who thought the site should work for him. He told the Pasadena Weekly, “So I went to their website but couldn’t pass the initial screen. There was no option for man seeking man.”  What to do? Why sue, of course!

How dare eHarmony cater only to heterosexuals!  eHarmony does not accept married applicants, and rejects 16% of those who take their patented personality test as “poor marriage prospects.” It is totally reasonable to think a gay person might not be a good marriage prospect for a person of the opposite sex.  Nevertheless, in 2005 McKinley filed suit against eHarmony for violating New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. And what did eHarmony do? Instead of going to trial, they settled!

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council called this a “shocking concession,” saying “the surest way to lose the culture war is refusing to fight.” He also wrote, “What’s worse, there were plenty of ways for the site to resolve the issue and keep its policy intact. For instance, eHarmony could have simply refused to service the state of New Jersey. Instead, Warren conceded significant moral ground, opening the door to a wave of attacks on other dating sites like catholicmatch.com.”

According to the National Catholic Register eHarmony has agreed to do the following:

  • Start a new website for homosexuals, which they’re going to call CompatiblePartners.net, that has to be clearly identified as part of eHarmony.
  • Give McKinley a free one-year subscription and the first 10,000 users free six-month subscriptions to it.
  • Pay McKinley $5000 and the State of New Jersey $50,000 to cover the costs of the litigation.
  • Post photos of same-sex couples in the “Diversity” section of eHarmony’s site as examples of couples who have successfully used the service. [There hasn’t been time for this yet.]]
  • Revise anti-discrimination statements on its websites and other company publications.
  • Commit to advertising the CompatiblePartners site and hire a consultant “experienced in promoting the ‘fair, accurate, and inclusive’ representation” of homosexuals in the media in order to help them market more directly to homosexuals.

Of course, once eHarmony caved, other suits sprang up. Linda Carlson, of California, sued eHarmony’s dating service in May 2007, alleging it discriminated against gays, lesbians and bisexuals. Carlson stated: “Such outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business open to the public in this day and age,” The lawsuit, now ongoing in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks class-action status, a jury trial and unspecified damages.

My computer tells me there are other websites right down Mr. McKinley’s alley, all of which are willing to find someone for him:   Match.com, OneGoodLove.com, Chemistry.com,  Gayfitandsingle.com,  GayRomeo.com, Gayoptions.com, Pridedating.com. But I suspect he was not as interested in finding a partner as in bringing a marriage-oriented site down.

The people who attack tradtional marriage are both smart and affluent. They bring their suits forward in areas where they know there are judges who will lean their way, whether by inclination or by inducement. They succeeded in telling the Methodists in Ocean Grove, NJ, that unless they allowed same sex unions in their Boardwalk Pavilion they could not allow any weddings there at all!

In April, 2008, a Christian photographer was sued for refusing to take pictures of a lesbian commitment ceremony. It was ruled by the New Mexico Human Rights Commission that Elaine Huguenin had violated the state’s Human Rights Act and she was ordered to pay almost  $7,000 for the couple’s attorney’s fees.

In June, 2000, the New Jersey Supreme Court told the Boy Scouts of America that they could not fire scoutmaster James Dale, an admitted homosexual.  In this case, at least, common sense prevailed and the ruling was overturned by the United States Supreme Court.

Look at the history of Proposition 8 in California. In 2000 voters there formally declared marriage as between a man and a woman. In May, 2008, the California Supreme Court by a 4-3 vote struck down that ruling. In November 2008 on Proposition 8 voters in a state-wide ballot again ruled to make same-sex marriage illegal in California. Numerous suits have been filed and numerous protests have occurred aiming to invalidate Proposition 8. The Mormon church (Latter Day Saints) which strongly backed Prop 8 thought they were “defending the Kingdom of God” but they were accused of hate speech and political speech and they must, of course, be targeted by protesters and  investigated.

If I’m rendering a service, why can’t I decide exactly what service I plan to provide and to whom I want to provide it? What ever happened to choice? Does the Widows and Widowers Club have to admit someone who feels left out because her spouse hasn’t died yet? Does the Catholic Book store have to provide books on the Koran? Does the Old Geezers Club have to admit Old Hags? If I start a school for disabled children are you going to sue me to let your able-bodied child attend? If I only have room for 20 children will you force me to accept 21? If I open a Women’s clothing store, must I also sell men’s clothing because I’m discriminating against men?

Every reasonable person discriminates each time they choose one thing over another. Now they’re telling us discrimination is a bad thing? Political correctness has truly run amok!

Anti-discrimination laws on the basis of “sexual orientation” are by their very nature going to conflict with religious liberty and freedom of speech. Are we ready to put away our Bibles? Both the Bible and common sense tell us that “gay marriage” is an oxymoron. A look a human anatomy is enough to tell the whole story. Traditionally a marriage has not actually taken place until it is consummated. Two men or two women cannot perform the marriage act! As one commentator  so beautifully put it:  They want to tie a knot that cannot be tied.

Give me a break!

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Who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame?  Or who ever persevered in the fear of the Lord and was forsaken?  —  Sirach 2:10