Why was the relationship a disgrace and a bad example to young people? what were homer's intentions?

The women of the town began to say that her riding around in the buggy with Homer Barron, with no intention of marriage, was a "disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people." The Baptist minister called upon her, but left and refused to return; his wife wrote to Miss Emily's family in Alabama a week later. Her "kinsfolk" came to her, from Alabama, even though there had been a falling out in the family. The townspeople thought that "the two female cousins were even more Grierson than Miss Emily had ever been."

I don;t think any of the townspeople really knew what Homer's intentions were. One day he just "disappeared" after visiting Emily.