Christian Dating Site Makes Room for Gay Singles

ChristianMingle.com, an online dating service for Christian singles, must now accommodate gay and lesbian users, a California judge ruled. 

Two gay men brought a class action suit against ChristianMingle's parent company, Spark Network, for not giving them an option to seek same-sex relationships on the site. 

ChristianMingle includes "man seeking woman" and "woman seeking man" options for users, but does not include alternatives for users seeking members of the same sex.

The men who tried to use the site claimed that the limited options violated California's anti-discrimination law, reports the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). 

The Unruh Civil Rights Act requires businesses offer "full and equal" accommodations and services to people regardless of their sexual orientation.

Now, Spark Networks can only ask its users to identify if they are male and female and for now make no indication of the type of relationship they are seeking. It is a change that is rolling out on its other dating service sites like  CatholicMingle.com, AdventistSinglesConnection.com, BlackSingles.com, and a mobile application CrossPaths. 

Under the agreement, Spark Networks said they would tailor other search and profile features for gay and lesbian users within the next two years. 

In addition to the terms approved by the state judge Monday, Spark Networks also agreed to pay pay both men $9,000 each and $450,000 in attorneys' fees. 

The company didn't admit any wrongdoing as part of the agreement, according to a WSJ report.