eHarmony — a dating service founded by Neil Clark Warren to serve the pre-marital dating desires of conservative evangelicals — has settled an antidiscrimination complaint in New Jersey by setting up a separate-and-unequal dating site for sexual minorities.

Ex-gay industry pundits promptly sought to exploit the news.

Peter LaBarbera accused the gay man who filed the lawsuit of exploiting New Jersey’s “special rights law” — even though the state law equally protects residents regardless of their gender, race, or sexual orientation. LaBarbera further took the opportunity to distort Exodus International officials’ position that sexual attraction is an “identity” that can be changed as easily as one changes one’s political party label or denominational identity:

Evidence that homosexuality is a behavior — and not an “identity” — issue can be found in the many ex-gays and ex-lesbians who have found freedom from homosexuality through Christ — and true love and marriage with a member of the opposite sex.

No one at Exodus has corrected LaBarbera.

Meanwhile, Focus on the Family — whose supporters have, until now, used eHarmony to sanitize their pre-marital sexual desires — sought to project its allies’ questionable morals onto government:

“It’s basically the power of the government being used to force people across the country to accept beliefs that they know are not moral,” said Kelly Shackelford, president of the Free Market Foundation and chief counsel of the Liberty Legal Institute. “It’s an attack on freedom, and people better get ready to fight.”

I have yet to find a gay activist that fully supports the settlement. Personally, I would prefer to know that a company is antigay before I do business with it. I don’t want to be diverted by the company to an afterthought website for second-class citizens — and while I don’t believe businesses should be permitted to harass or fire workers on the basis of a minority status, I’m not sure I really want government to force companies to pretend to be tolerant toward clients when they’re not.

Advocates of equality and freedom will continue to shame eHarmony (and Focus on the Family) for their ongoing opposition to equality and moral consistency. But perhaps gay dating services should begin to wonder whether they might soon be forced to cater to the desires of antigay fundamentalists.

The best course of action may be to support dating services that don’t discriminate in either direction: Services, such as Chemistry.com, that focus on relationship-building and not the gender — or genitals — of their clients.

Hat tips: Good As You, Republic of T

On Nov. 8, Truth Wins Out and the Gay Liberation Network joined a coalition of local, state and national groups to protest Focus on the Family’s James Dobson’s induction into the Radio Hall of Fame.

A crowd of several hundred people came out to demonstrate on a frigid night in Chicago. They were also energized by Proposition 8 being passed in California, which prohibited same-sex couples from marrying.

California Proposition 8 explicitly eliminates equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian Californians. It also overturns religious freedom for California religious institutions that affirm marriage for same-sex couples. Proposition 2 in Florida and Proposition 102 in Arizona do the same.

The ballot propositions impose on the states — and all their residents — the sectarian religious belief that homosexuality is immoral and that gays and lesbians are not entitled to be treated equally under the law.

But the religious-rightists who support these propositions can’t win popular support by telling voters the truth. So instead, Focus on the Family, Exodus, wealthy Mormon donors, and others have caved in to the immoral gutter instincts of dirty politics, illegal Internet attacks, and alleged election-law violations.

The L.A. Times editorial board today listed some of the deceptions of the lawless forces behind Proposition 8: (Read More)

The parents of PFLAG reached out June 7 to attendees of “Love Won Out,” Focus on the Family’s ex-gay roadshow in Orlando, Florida. The parents offered a message of unconditional love and hope to counter the conditional love and damaging stereotypes of the ex-gay conference.

Earlier, Truth Wins Out participated in a press conference with Dr. Kathryn Norsworthy, licensed psychologist; Joe Saunders, Equality Florida; Rev. John Middleton, Joy Metropolitan Community Church; Pastor Brei Taylor, Oasis Ministries; and Linn Possell, Hope Unites United Church of Christ. The press conference was hosted by the Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida.

Vicki Nantz and her partner, Mary Meeks, shot this wonderful video at our press conference yesterday – where we spoke out against Focus on the Family’s “ex-gay” Love Won Out road show. The two women also filmed a documentary about Ryan Skipper, a man who was murdered in Florida because of his sexual orientation.

Watch the video: Truth Wins Out and local GLBT equality advocates protested against Focus on the Family’s ex-gay roadshow in Mountain View, California, on April 12, 2008.

Several dozen people demonstrated outside the DFW Airport Marriott, where the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) held its annual conference. Members discussed the use of therapy to suppress someone’s homosexual desires. The message from the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups protesting the events is that homosexuality needs no cure because it is not an illness and that attempts to convert gays is destructive and based on quack science.

On Sept. 20 2007, the right wing brought right wing leaders together to gay bash in Brandon, Florida. The gathering was called the Family Impact Summit.

A coalition of progressive groups, led by Equality Florida gathered to counter the symposium. This is the video of Wayne Besen’s remarks, the Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. TWO is an organization that counters the so-called “ex-gay” myth.

Activists counter Focus on the Family’s goofy “ex-gay” Love Won Out road show