The dating website ChristianMingle.com must now provide dating options for gay people, according to a settlement in a California case.
The Wall Street Journal reported that two gay men sued the website after they found no options for meeting gay men who profess to be Christian.
The men said the site "arbitrarily and intentionally" excluded gay and lesbian people, which was a violation of California's civil rights acts that requires businesses to provide equal services regardless of sexual orientation.
On all the Spark Network sites, the first selection when a person sets up a dating profile is "I'm a man seeking a woman" or "I'm a woman seeking a man."
Under the settlement, the profile selection now reads, "I am a man" and "I am a woman." The sites must maintain the change for the next two years, according to the Journal.
ChristianMingle, as well as other sites owned by Spark including CatholicMingle.com, AdventistSingles.com, and BlackSingles.com, have changed their dating profile messaging.
An editorial in the Libertarian Republic criticized the California law, saying the state has gone "full authoritarian."
The Huffington Post listed reasons that the faith community must support LGBT people. The article included Rabbi Dr. Jay Michaelson, who said, "What we need instead is an ethos of 'do no harm.'"
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