A Virginia realtor faces the loss of his license after his state association ruled that a nine-year-old posting of a Biblical verse on his personal social media account was an act of hate speech.
According to combined media reports, the Hearing Committee of the Virginia Association of Realtors (VAR) decided last week that Wilson Fauber, the owner and managing Broker at Regal Real Estate of Virginia LLC, violated its Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual when he shared the passage from Leviticus 18:22 regarding the Old Testament view of homosexuality on his personal Facebook page. Fauber, who is also a pastor and runs Arise International Ministries, published the post was made on Feb. 13, 2015, and the complaint was initially filed by two realtors last year after Fauber unsuccessfully ran for the city council in Staunton, Virginia.
VAR determined the Biblical quote shred by Fauber violated its Standard of Practice 10-5 rule regarding “very particular types of speech that are directly connected to the protected classes of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity under Article 10.” VAR has another policy that states its members “are subject to disciplinary action with respect to all of their activities, except in those circumstances in which the Code of Ethics only applies to real estate-related activities by virtue of its Articles or Standards of Practice.”
Fauber, who has been a realtor for 44 years, has never been accused of discrimination or hate speech harassment against prospective homebuyers, nor has he used his realtor-related social media pages to promote his ministry. He criticized VAR’s attempt to label him as a hate speech advocate.
“They didn’t find any dirt, but they found a scripture from Feb. 13, 2015, and they decided they were going to use that and label me as the hater,” Fauber said.
Fauber’s attorney, Michael Sylvester, questioned why VAR was penalizing Fauber for echoing a Biblical scripture.
“He’s a minister, he runs a nonprofit Christian ministry,” Sylvester said. “It’s normal for him to express his views on these topics on his personal social media page.”
Sylvester added Fauber would appeal the ruling, arguing his First Amendment rights were being violated.
“Did any of his speech constitute hate speech or harassment speech against a protected category? Our position has been decidedly that it did not,” Sylvester said.
Photo courtesy of Wilson Fauber’s Facebook page
Christian people need to be a protected class. And if ever a conflict, their rights should be overwhelmingly upheld. America was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs.
Wrong, our country was founded on freedom. Including religious freedom.
jb,
You should read the Constitution of the United States of America including the Bill of Rights and “Notes Of Debates In The Federal Convention Of 1787” by James Madison.
First of all what he posted is the truth and second it’s free speech.
Regardless of whether this is an action of the Association or DPOR. Shame on them both! They are both over reaching and should be down sized.
When organizations take away the rights of Freedom of Speech it is something the Supreme Court should take up. When the Realtor Police decided to put this in the Code of Ethics I shuddered and grieved that well meaning individual with a Woke adjenda would try to take away rights of any one to give their beliefs.
I see all kinds of evil things on social media being put out their by people.
May Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion remain with us. May a good government call out Organizations that try to take that away.
Shame on the National Association of Realtors.
Thank you Steve Westmark. I agree with you 100%.
Does the VAR have the right to revoke his license or isn’t that the state commissions responsibility? 2nd thought do like thousands of other agents are doing and leave the Not Always Right (NAR) group and drop the name Realtor and continue to do business. May God almighty protect you.
Prayers for this persecuted Christian minister 🙏🏼, never thought we would see this in the USA but the time has come.
Thank you, Nancy. I sincerely appreciate your prayers. It is a sad time in America when the National Association of REALTORS has become so woke. The NAR is free to endorse sinful behavior. Yet, they chose to persecute and “prosecute” Christians like me for my religiously held Biblical beliefs, which I posted on my personal Facebook page. The NAR has stated they are not obligated to honor the First Amendment, but they should. Sadly, NAR is trying to enforce a totalitarian mindset among its 1.5 million members, which is impossible. We are all different. If someone does not want to work with me because I am a Christian minister, they can choose another Realtor. I have NEVER discriminated against anyone in my 44 years as a Realtor. I have worked with alcoholics, prostitutes, people of other faiths, self-proclaimed atheists, unmarried couples living together, members of LGBTQ groups, and others listed in protected classes, and not once have I provided less than expert professional real estate services. When I am working with clients, I keep my “religion” to myself and serve everyone. The NAR thinks this is not possible and assumes a Christian like me is incapable of serving those different from me, but they are wrong!
Amen to that Bill, America was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs, we are the protected class! Christians demand their rights to be upheld and respected!
The devil is always a$$ backwards.
This man needs to choose – is he a pastor or is he a Realtor? If he won’t choose, the state will have to choose for him.
Why should he have to chose between Pastor and Realtor? Many Realtors have other positions and/or professions. What would give the state the power to make that choice for him?
He used a quote, not his own words.
I agree with you. Why must he chose. Ridicules!
Dear Play Fair, so what you are saying is those of us who are people of faith are disqualified from being a Realtor?
🎯🎯
Tina, by agreeing, you are guilty of discrimination by violating 10-5 because religion is a protected class. Religion is just as equally protected as any other listed class.
You must be a communist.
Who?
Shame on you. One day, we all will be in front of the Judge of the Universe. And you will see the difference in serving God and those who do not serve God. Repentance.
We live in America and have the right to free speech. I am a Christian and a Realtor. He does not have to choose between one or the other. We should be the hands and feet of Jesus, wherever we go and in whatever we do.
I am thankful Jesus died on the cross for our sins and He rose again and He is coming back for us!!!
We should be celebrating this.
MyGolly, that is absurd. Why do you think I should have to choose between the two? There are many, many, pastor/Realtors, attorney/Realtors, teacher/Realtors, and the list goes on and on. I have done both for decades. Why would you say I or others must choose only one?
All religious are protected except Christianity. This is more law-fare by the opposing candidate and needs to be struck down. As a Christian, I can promise you, we did not write the Bible. But we believe in Gods word and we are committed to following and spreading it. We don’t do it with hate and no one is required to follow or believe but we must have our religious freedoms and first amendment rights protected. This is insanity.
Candice. You are correct! This is insanity. You are also correct about the apparent exception to Christians. Those who are of other religions don’t seem to be the ones being persecuted and drug before hearing committees, fined, and sanctioned. If you hear of someone other than a Christian who has had to deal with this, please let me know. I certainly hope we are not dealing with discrimination against Christians only, but so far in my personal search, and my attorney’s search, everyone has been a Christian that we are aware of.
I 1000% disagree with what he believes, but I support his right to believe it and to voice his beliefs in personal environments. Furthermore, even if the Association’s rules extend to personal actions outside of a member’s real estate practice, IMO the penalty for a 1st offense should be just a warning, or at most a small fine, but not loss of license.
I absolutely agree Chris. I do not agree with Fauber, but this is a ridiculous overreach by VAR.
It is hating speech to censor his religious beliefs and rights!
This is ridiculous! One scripture from 9 years ago? 2 realtors decided to complain about a fellow realtor and his quote? Could their complaint be a violation of the Code of Ethics? What was their motivation ?? Hate? Hate of Christians?
That has been my question since this came to my attention. First, Wilson Fauber posted the Bible verse on his personal Facebook page in 2015. The Standards of Practice 10-5 only came into being in 2020. His supposed “hate speech” was posted five years before the NAR made hate speech an ethics violation. Secondly, the 10-5 protected classes includes religion. Standard of Practice 10-5 prohibits realtors from using harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs based on protected classes: Since this began, back when Wilson was running for city council, these two Realtors have been loudly and publicly calling Wilson “the Hater” for posting a Bible verse on his personal Facebook page where he posts opinions as an ordained Christian Minister. Naming him the Hater is both an epithet and a slur against a Christian, which is the protected class “religion”! Their declaring the Bible verse he posted hate speech is hate speech against God. Wilson didn’t write that verse, God did!
Thank you, Carole!
Dear Stephanie, you pose an excellent question. Why should I be guilty of hate speech when posting my personal religious beliefs on my personal social media, yet others, such as LGBTQ Realtors, can express their hatred toward me because of my Christian “religious” beliefs? Of course, I am not the only one being targeted. From the information I have garnered, those being targeted by NAR are Christians. I hope I am wrong, but this is the evidence my attorneys and I have found thus far. Are there Islamist Realtors? Mormons? Catholics? Jews? Of course, we know the answer. How many cases have you heard about these religions being persecuted by NAR?
So based on this Logic then the VAR wants to ban the Bible then.
Dear Robert T Willinger, you are on target. It certainly appears the NAR desires to target those of us who are faith-based Realtors who believe in the Holy Bible, which clearly describes what God calls sin and an abomination. According to NAR even a pastor/Realtor is not permitted to read or speak of certain scriptures even in his/her church. It appears NAR is biased and is guilty of discrimination.
While I agree that the hearing should have never taken place and believe this is one area NAR needs to change. I am a little confused, does the Virginia Association of REALTORS®️ have the power to revoke a real estate license? In most states this authority rests with the state real estate commission.
No they do not. In Virginia it is the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation—Real Estate Board
There should have been a warning if anything… ridiculous…smh!
So are you saying if he was not a Pastor that it would have been ok to post a bible verse on his personal page?
It’s amazing what realtors can’t get away with but elected officials can.
You nailed it!
A Realtor is a member of a trade organization. It/Realtor is not a license to practice real estate. Licensing in that regard is done by the “state“….or ‘Commonwealth’ in this instance.
I cannot see how this man can be harassed by his trade/business organization for something he does in his private life….outside of his business practice and not using his business practice as a vehicle for disseminating such information. I’m not expressing any opinion of agreement or disagreement with him, but I do think those who brought the charge are harassing him which may of itself be evidence that his Posting of biblical excerpts are necessary reading at least for the plaintiff here.
As a Realtor I see no place where that membership conveys any right to intrude in matters of my personal faith practice.
This is the kind of nonsense that is creating division and confusion in our country….incidentally, Realtor IS….properly spelled with a capital ‘R’ …..I guess someone has dumbed that down too.
In addition the VAR ought to have better topics to ‘fress’ over related to housing, than badger this man.
Hope he fights it. Speech is defended or clapped back at, by more speech, not less. In 2015 that verse may have made sense. Today it’s hate speech? Tomorrow, it may be different or more moderate.
How does VAR have to power to revoke licensure? VAR is tied to NAR, which is a trade organization. At most, they could suspend or remove his membership privileges. But his license to practice and to be a real estate broker is granted by a state regulatory authority, which VAR is not.
As an attorney and former pro standards administrator for a local Realtor Association, I think VAR has misinterpreted the COE and their role as a tribunal for alleged violations of the Code of Ethics. In addition to the question of the constitutionality of VAR’s ruling based on 1st Amendment grounds, VAR may have exposed itself to a civil or criminal complaint if its acts or the acts of its members, officers or association staff were malicious and aimed to defame, by libel or slander, or through an invasion of the broker’s privacy by portraying him in a false light. While it may be something for the courts to decide whether a clergyman is a “public figure” (which has legal significance) and and even if this whole thing started because of two people who had an axe to grind when he ran for a public office – – if the original complaint about an alleged Facebook post from many years ago was not “newsworthy”, but rather was malicious and defamatory in nature, it could be plausible to
find grounds for the filing of a complaint for damages against the originators and everyone else who repeated the defamatory remark(s) against the broker, whether they be per se or per quod.
If you are truly a lawyer and/or someone with experience in pro-standards, one would think you would be curious for more info before posting any kind of opinion. Click on over to any of his public portals. This person is continuing his anti LGBT rants, and has been ever since before he lost his bid for City Council in 2023. It is clear and public. This story is not factual and anyone can see it if they would like to have a clear and accurate vision of the situation. No matter what he believes, LGBT is a protected class and doing what he is still doing is a violation. No protected class is more protected than another. You should know this if you are who you say you are. Locals understand how this happened, and so does Mr Fauber. He is simply pushing untruths, and again – check for yourself.
Religion is a protected class, even on the 10-5 rule. Religious freedom is protected by the U.S. Constitution and the Virginia Constitution. Although the NAR is a private organization who is not bound by the constitution, the Code of Virginia is in charge of real estate licensing and both are bound by the U.S. Constitution and the Virginia Constitution, both of which guarantee freedom of speech. “ The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that hate speech is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be directly regulated by the government. The court has said that the government should not try to shield people from ideas they find offensive or disagreeable. The court has also said that the First Amendment protects the freedom to express even hateful thoughts.”
You are 100% correct. When this case is appealed beyond the scope of a trade organization, the next step is the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation—Real Estate Board, which states clearly that “ The right of every person to engage in any lawful profession, trade, or occupation of his choice is clearly protected by both the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Commonwealth cannot abridge such rights except as a reasonable exercise of its police powers when (i) it is clearly found that such abridgment is necessary for the protection or preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of the public and (ii) any such abridgment is no greater than necessary to protect or preserve the public health, safety, and welfare.”
They do have the power to “police” your personal life, but only in instances of criminal behavior and crimes of moral turpitude. They definitely can’t control what a pastor says from their pulpit.
I’m sure hateful libs filed a complaint against him. What a shame! I’m not Christian and I think he has every right to post his own religious views on his personal social media account. That’s his First Amendment right. If it’s a Bible verse, are you going to prosecute Bible, too? I have many good gay friends but if anyone speaks his/her own view and thinks that it is a sin, I have respect for those people as well. Religion is personal. Nobody can force anyone to hide or change his/her religious beliefs. It’s same as a meat eater forcing a Buddhist to eat meat and kill animals. You can’t force people to think and feel in a way that you think it’s the right way. It may be right for you, but it may be wrong for them.
If it’s wrong for you…don’t do it…end of story. Why proclaim publicly that it is wrong for people to do unless you are trying to persuade/force/judge their behavior/beliefs to which they have the same right….LIVE…and…LET LIVE. “Religion is personal”…agreed!…keep it to yourself!
And if the only evidence of “hate” here is an old posting of a Bible verse…move on folks, let this man live and be.
Well stated RG. You are correct; the actions of my accusers have been mean-spirited and spiteful, and yes, they are Liberals. Sadly, I think, motivated by hate. Still, I do not hate them. Thank you for speaking up and standing for free speech. There can be no hate speech laws if free speech is to remain in America. All buyers and sellers are free to make their own choices as to what Realtor or real estate agent they wish to work with. All speech is free speech and must remain that way. Already in the United Kingdom, they are arresting people for their thoughts – praying silently. We cannot have that in AMERICA. That is why I am speaking out to protect free speech and freedom of religious expression. Otherwise, America will become like Canada, the UK, and other countries.
Wow, just wow….where do all of you people live??? Wherever it is, I want to move there. I live in CA and I can just about guarantee none of you people do. Too many common sense comments, I am humbled.
Much love to you all and here’s to a great New Year.
Licensed since 1986.
As long as he doesn’t treat his customers any different what he does in his personal life is none of VAR, NAR, or anyone else’s business. Are we gonna start revoking truck drivers CDL‘s because they have a bumper sticker on their personal car that someone doesn’t like? Ridiculous!
Biden should pardon him! What a joke and nothing more than the BS law fare that’s been occurring!
This article doesn’t even skim the surface of it. He’s been posting continuously—not just one post from nine years ago—and goading others to challenge him including making outrageous claims that he is going to take the case to the Supreme Court. He’s badmouthing other REALTORS and apparently thinks he can say anything he wants under the cloak of being a pastor. If he wants to sell real estate he can—just not as a REALTOR under the National Association of REALTORS. The NAR has rules just like employers do. If you come into your work tomorrow and start spouting scripture your employer has the right to tell you to stop or they can fire you. You don’t get the right to say whatever you want when you belong to a professional organization. Just do a quick scan of his Facebook page and you’ll see the dozens of outlandish posts. Instead of learning from his mistakes or taking responsibility when he was called out for it the first time and course correcting—he got fired up with an “i’ll show you” attitude. He dug himself this hole—the people who reported him aren’t to blame.
This is his Facebook page and this is America. I hope the State Association has a lot of money to fight this because they have overstepped their authority and they will lose. In 2025 NAR will become less powerful as they actually are not working for us Real Estate Professionals and people are tired of it! In 2024 they sold out and we all pay the price now! Good Luck Mr. Fauber – you will prevail!!! Stay strong!!!
If you work, please go in and call people some names today. Rant incessantly about them. Do it in front of your manager or HR. If you are a real estate provider, do it on your business or personal public page. Do it a lot! Let us know how that goes. We will check back to see what you have reported. Eager to hear!
“ The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that hate speech is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be directly regulated by the government. The court has said that the government should not try to shield people from ideas they find offensive or disagreeable. The court has also said that the First Amendment protects the freedom to express even hateful thoughts.”
Anonymous, why hide? If you want to make these claims, be bold enough to post your name. If you really believe what you are saying, be a responsible person and don’t hide. You are making many accusations; are you unwilling to stand behind your statements? You just want to be a keyboard warrior hiding in your darkness.
What about the BLM movement for instance? I know people who came to the office with BLM posters, wearing BLM garb and talking BLM issues. You what happened to them? Absolutely nothing!
Standard of Practice 10-5 was put in place in 2020. I question why it is retroactive? Honestly, Realtor associations are overstepping their control everywhere. I disagree with this man’s personal beliefs wholeheartedly. However, I feel he has a right to his own religious beliefs. Being a Realtor should not mean giving up your civil rights. If he has not said or done anything post 2020 when this Standard of Practice was put into the Code of Ethics, then I’d say this is pretty petty. If you want to see more pettiness, see the monkey-business NAR is conducting against the Phoenix Realtor association. Kudos to Phoenix for providing choice in our industry. I’m tired of living under the shadow of NAR’s internal struggles. And this is yet another example of NAR’s over-reach.
Because he repeatedly posted tons of anti LGBT tropes AFTER this 2015 post was discovered by the local news, and is still doing it. A verifiable fact that he (and the syndications of this story) leave out. This was not over one post, it was over tons of posts. As recently as right now it is happening on his public platforms. Would be nice if anyone entities reposting this one-sided and dishonest drivel would do the minimum of research and check out the publicly available portals where his anti-LGBT posts are clear and available. The premise of this whole story is incorrect. The bigoted posts stand to this moment, and are continuing. I hope that if you are licensed you support fair housing and recognize protected classes, and this new information helps you understand this situation better.
He needs to sue them for all of us !
WWJD?
Stephen Baltzer, Jesus, would boldly proclaim the scriptures just as He did during His time on earth. I don’t believe Jesus would become a Realtor, but in the unlikely event He did, He would not compromise His Word for fear of offending the feelings of those who choose to walk in sin. Jesus offended people consistently because they did not like His speech/message. In contrast, I have never shared my faith or religious belief while working with clients UNLESS they open that door and they want to have that discussion.
Christians have been persecuted for their beliefs over the centuries. To this day, there are areas of the world where Christianity is illegal. GOD does not guarantee that Christians will not have to die for their faith.
Nations that persecute Christians do not thrive in the long run. While our US Constitution guarantees religious freedom, the Democrat Party and it’s liberal progressives do not believe in the US Constitution by their acts.
Slipping the words “sexual orientation” into State Laws and private organization documents merely guarantees that believing Christians will be prosecuted.
Hahaha this story is based on total lies. This person repeatedly posted rants and memes against a protected class. Period. This was not one post. The entire community rose up against his public diatribes, and the repeated claims that he is a victim or that this is over one post from 2015 is totally false. Recently the local news did a story on it, and one only has to look that far to see the locals revisiting the reasoning behind the consequence here. People can believe whatever they want, but using religion as a get out of jail free card when it comes to accountability around normal codes of conduct is blasphemous. The Bible does not say that people who are obsessed with LGBT folks have the right to rant and rave about them in Jesus’ name, and the COE says that disparaging any protected class is a problem. The original claims from this person are not factual. Feel free to check his posts for yourself. If you think that someone should be permitted to cherry pick the Bible to disparage a protected class on a public forum, you need to study both the Bible and the COE. One look at his FB page or the local site will help educate if anyone is interested in the truth here. He can say whatever he wants. But maybe he cannot say whatever he wants and continue to be a member of a professional organization that has rules about public conduct and is bound to follow fair housing laws.
Why comment anonymously? Are you scared of allowing people to see who’s posting these statements so they can’t hold you accountable for any malicious statements or claims you’re making in your comments?
A code of ethics violation does not result in a loss of license. Licensing is through the state DOC, not the Realtor associations. Ethics violations are handled by professional standards which is through NAR. There can be penalties for ethics violations like fines and CE. Realtor associations can not revoke a real estate license. Being a member of NAR is voluntary as is adhering to the code of ethics. If NAR had rules that were against my faith I would leave NAR.
2015? This is so crazy. He did not even say it God did!
If I understand it correctly, the NAR via a local board can revoke membership in the NAR, but not revoke a real estate license which is controlled by the State. What the problem is, though, is that no NAR membership and no membership in a local board of Realtors means no access to the MLS system in the market. Finally, the quoting of a Bible verse is not hate speech. Disciplinary action over this is a stretch too far.
Donna, YES! Thank you, that is a wonderful comment! What I am doing is boldly standing up for the rights of all Americans. This case is much bigger than about me. As many people have stated, I am simply the point of the spear. I have taken my case to America because Americans, not just Realtors, are impacted by this. My accusers want to scoff at that statement, trying to belittle me. They will see. The majority of the American people are no longer going to tolerate the liberal leftist policies, intimidation, and screaming coming from their ranks and the White House. Thankfully, in a matter of days, we will have a sensible president in the White House who does not hate Christians. From what I have seen, most liberals want to silence the voices of Christians and want to pass laws to protect THEIR hate speech and radical policies.
Dear Confused in MA, You are not confused. Even though there are quotes online from NAR officials” stating they have the right to revoke a Realtor’s license for violating 10-5, they do not. Neither the NAR nor any state (or Commonwealth such as Virginia) Realtor Association issues licenses; therefore, they do not have the right to revoke a license. Many media outlets have erroneously used a headline that leads readers to believe that is the case. Neither my attorneys nor I have ever stated that the NAR or state association has that right. Has or does NAR and state REALTOR Associations “lean on” state real estate commissions to revoke a Realtor’s license because “they” want the REALTORS license revoked? Indeed, it is possible and could happen. The NAR and Virginia Association of REALTORS appear to have a “very close working relationship.”
It’s sad that there is so much misinformation in this string of comments. First, I’m a Christian for 74 years, an avid reader of American history and have studied the Bible. Article 10 of the COE is about not discriminating against a group of people who have historically been discriminating against in our country. No matter what your faith or religion, as a Realtor you still have to abide by Article 10. Being a Christian or a member of any other faith does not give you a ‘free pass’ on discrimination. As far as Article One of the Bill of Rights, free speech does not give you the right to say anything you want in society. Hate speech, no matter the source, no matter your religious choice damages the principles of Article 10 and the Realtor COE. Freedom of Speech in this country does not allow you to threaten people with physical harm nor yell fire in a movie theater. In Article One of the Bill of Rights, Freedom of Religion gives everyone the right to practice the faith and religion of their choice or no religion. Our Founding Fathers didn’t want government forcing any religion on society, like King George did in England. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights are secular documents and God, Christianity nor any other faith is not mentioned in either document. No, our country was not founded on Christian Judeo values nor did George Washington chop down a cherry tree when he was a kid. It is said that so many myths have been perpetuated for so long in this country. The minister quoted verse in Leviticus. Here’s some more: Leviticus 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine says this only applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Why can’t own Canadians? To everyone in this thread, your religion or faith does not give you the right to discriminate against the protected classes in Article 10 of the Realtor COE. No religion gives you that right. BTW, most states and our federal government don’t give you that right either. The concept of Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism gave us the right to commit genocide on 70 million indigenous native Americans. As a Christian, do you think that was right. How would Jesus feel about that?