Virginia Real Estate Agent Could Lose License for Posting Scriptures About Marriage

A veteran Virginia real estate agent is facing professional ethics charges and could lose his license after sharing scripture on social media that pointed out that marriage is between and a woman. 

The Founding Freedoms Law Center (FFLC), a non-profit legal group, is representing Wilson Fauber in a December 4 hearing before the National Association of Realtors (NAR) ethics panel for sharing his biblical views on marriage and sexuality. 

According to the group, Fauber posted comments to his personal Facebook page explaining the biblical definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman.

"In 2015, I posted Biblical quotes on my personal Facebook page," Fauber told The Federalist. "Around the same time, Rev. Franklin Graham had created a post and I re-posted with some additions for emphasis." 

"The post thread contained Bible references and explanations from a minister's perspective," the ordained minister added. 

The Staunton, Virginia realtor posted the scriptures before the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to redefine marriage. He also posted it before NAR amended its ethics code in 2020 requiring realtors to avoid "harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity."  

The minister told the outlet he did not receive any complaints about his comments until last year when he decided to run for Staunton City Council.

At that time, an opposition group criticized Fauber for his Christian beliefs calling him "The Hater."

"There were those who don't like freedom of speech and freedom of religion and so they researched my Facebook accounts and found the post from 2015 and then a local reporter met with me to ask me if I still believed in the scripture I had posted," Fauber said. 

Fauber told the reporter he does believe in scripture and what he posted. 

As a result, an ethics complaint was filed with the NAR following Fauber's statement. The complaint also cited a recent post from the minister pointing out how female athletes were being physically injured by transgender athletes who were born biologically male.

They concluded that Fauber's statements may have violated the NAR's rules against hate speech, the FFLC explains.

"Apparently quoting the truth of the Bible is now enough to trigger a formal ethics hearing that could ruin a real estate agent's career. In reality, 'hate speech' is nothing more than an Orwellian device used to silence others. Ironically, rules and regulations like these are put in place to hate and harm individuals with disfavored viewpoints," reads a statement from the group.

Fauber is being required to defend his statements in an ethics hearing on December 4 to avoid monetary penalties or lose his membership to the organization, which means after 44 years as a realtor he would be barred from accessing the multiple listing service (MLS).

"It's pretty much impossible to do the real estate business without the MLS," Fauber said. "The MLS does more than allow a realtor to find a property, it includes when it's sold, how many days it's been on the market, and other information, documents, and restrictions."

Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, oversees FFLC and says the board's action to possibly charge Fauber is concerning. 

"When somebody brought him up on ethics charges, the board could have chosen to dismiss them, but they did not," Cobb said. "We're really in a situation where if someone's personal faith posted on their personal Facebook speech becomes hate speech in the minds of an employer or an association, we don't live in a free America, everyone should be concerned about that."

Michael Sylvester, FFLC litigation counsel, says that if Fauber is dismissed then "society has really reached a new low."

"The hopeful outcome is that the ethics judges will recognize that Wilson hasn't violated the rule and has never spoken against anybody in any online space or publicly," Sylvester told The Federalist. "In the bigger picture, if quoting the Bible is hate speech then society has really reached a new low. Usually, we admire our professionals, but now we are telling our professionals they need to leave their values at the door. One would have thought that this 2020 rule would be to stop society's greatest evil, but now it is targeting Christian ministers."

"If this can happen to Wilson it can happen to anyone and if we don't stand up alongside, we may not have anyone stand with us when it happens to us," Sylvester said.

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