History was made at last week's National Association of Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., as the NAR Board of Directors voted overwhelmingly to approve a proposal to add LGBT consumers to the list of protected classes under the Realtor Code of Ethics.
The Board vote on Saturday May 15 followed a unanimous Thursday vote by the NAR Professional Standards Committee on the Article Ten issue. The proposal was previously approved last November in New Orleans at the NAR Annual Conference by the NAR Equal Opportunity - Cultural Diversity Committee.
[YouTube Video Courtesy of the National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals]
The effort to get Article Ten amended to include sexual orientation has truly been the work of many people. Since the Wisconsin Realtors' Association Equal Opportunity in Housing Committee first introduced this proposed amendment, it has been examined and approved by the WRA Board (including WRA President Bill Malkasian), the NAR Equal Opportunity - Cultural Diversity Committee, the NAR Interpretations and Procedures Subcommittee, the NAR Professional Standards Committee and most recently the NAR Board of Directors.
In the process of moving this proposal forward, many individuals were involved, including Fred Underwood (NAR Director, Diversity and Community Outreach Programs) who offered consistent support on the Article Ten issue. Wisconsin Realtors Association Director of Legal Affairs Debra Peterson Conrad provided sound legal and procedural advice, along with Kevin King of the NAR Professional Standards Committee. And former NAR President Dick Gaylord was a tremendously helpful advisor during the entire process.
In particular, credit must be given to Jeff Berger, founder of the National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP), who spearheaded the Article Ten effort back in 2007. Jeff invited me to join the Board of NAGLREP after reading my December 5, 2007 ActiveRain blog post, entitled,"Tell NAR It's Time to Rewrite Article 10 of the Code of Ethics" and I accepted. The collaboration resulted in our bringing this proposal before the WRA Board on March 6, 2009.
The story is not finished yet. The resolution passed by the NAR Board of Directors still must be ratified by a delegate vote this November in New Orleans.
This Code of Ethics change is of huge importance. It will influence the standards of practice of over a million Realtors across the United States, and it will help to protect perhaps tens of millions of real estate consumers from discrimination in real estate. The way our National Association of Realtors has handled this proposal makes me extremely proud to be a Realtor.
There's a personal side to this story as well. Three years ago, when I was blogging quite a bit on ActiveRain about Fair Housing issues, a fellow who didn't care for my subject matter sent me an email message. He dismissed Fair Housing Laws and the anti-discrimination provisions in the Realtor Code of Ethics as "a lot of PC garbage". And he boasted to me that he could discriminate against gays all he wanted, because "there's a loophole in the Code".
Well, it looks like that loophole is closing. And when that happens, it will be a great source of personal satisfaction to me.
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