eHarmony was served with a lawsuit today for refusing to offer its service to gays, lesbians and bisexuals, reports Reuters, a topic made salient in recent months in part because of a competitive marketing campaign.

eHarmony's policy was hardly news to the gay community, but a current nationwide print and television campaign, conducted by new dating site Chemistry.com, relied heavily on imagery of gays rejected by eHarmony (via Adrants).

Chemistry.com is owned by Match.com.

The discrimination suit was filed at the LA Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, but lawyers are seeking to convert it into a class action on behalf of any gays and lesbians who may have been excluded from the service.

Legal representatives filing the suit against eHarmony contend this is the first time the company has been sued on the basis of discrimination by sexual orientation.

In a statement, eHarmony explained its years of relationship research was "based on the traits and personality patterns of heterosexual marriages." The company also explained that with more research, they could very well include same-sex matches in the future.

Founded in 2000, eHarmony has over 12 million registered users, making it one of the nation's largest Internet dating sites.