Gay group sues eHarmony

I usually avoid gay issues here. I'd rather cover other things. Another reason is quite frankly it's never been crystal clear to me whether people are born gay or become gay, which makes debating tricky. Based on my life experiences I'd say the answer is probably "yes". However, this story seems to call for an exception for a variety of reasons:

LOS ANGELES - The popular online dating service eHarmony was sued on Thursday for refusing to offer its services to gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

A lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, who was denied access to eHarmony because she is gay.

I'm not a lawyer but it seems to me this is rather childish and frivolous. There are other dating services that cater to gays or make no distinctions. Apparently eHarmony also tends to exclude straights for reasons known to only them. MSNBC repeatedly reminded us the company was founded by a prominent Christian with ties to Focus on the Family. Scary, scary. While busy slopping out that chum they failed to mention a possible competition angle, equally as pertinent.

It seems a classic civil rights claim would involve a grievous harm due to a denial of service, such prevention of getting a date or finding a mate. That said, it'll be an interesting legal test, especially if we throw in hate crimes in some fashion. Perhaps the outcome might affect future lawsuits regarding Muslim cabbies refusing to serve infidels who've been drinking or partying, or who ask to be taken to the McDonald's drive-thru so they can purchase a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit.