As Pride month officially wraps, the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance has some strong words for the National Association of Realtors: Do. Better.
Alliance CEO Ryan Weyandt and President Dave Gervase, on behalf of the organization’s 13-person Board of Directors, Officers, and 2,500-plus members, have sent a letter to NAR, calling on the Realtor Political Action Committee (RPAC) to cease funding local, state or nationally elected officials or candidates who participate in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric or publicly support or vote for anti-LGBTQ+ bills.
The lengthy letter notes that RPAC continues to back anti-equality candidates and officials. Specifically, the Alliance calls out RPAC’s support for Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, who compares being LGBTQ to pedophilia, and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who proposed a federal constitutional amendment against marriage equality.
“It has become increasingly difficult for The Alliance to remain silent as NAR and RPAC actively continue to support candidates who are involved in anti-LGBTQ+ behavior which is unfortunately becoming more and more aggressive as the days pass,” Weyandt said. “NAR, as the nation’s largest trade organization, cannot allow elected officials it financially supports to violate the anti-discriminatory spirit of its own Code of Ethics. Frankly, it’s puzzling that an organization can require its 1.6 million members to abide by its code, but seemingly suspends it when endorsing political candidates. Pulling funding from those who discriminate will be a major statement to our nation and hopefully act as an impetus for change and greater acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.”
The Alliance asserts that those who receive RPAC funding should be held to high standards which can no longer include discrimination or discriminatory actions. This action would be a step forward in assuring NAR does not find itself in a position having to issue a public apology to the LGBTQ+ community, as it recently did to the black/African American community under President Opler.
For its part, RPAC Trustees Federal Disbursements Committee Chair Patti Hill told Inman that NAR leadership has no control over federal RPAC disbursements, and RPAC is dedicated to maintaining a nonpartisan viewpoint. Hill notes that 2020 disbursements were almost evenly split between Republicans (49 percent) and Democrats (51 percent).
To read the full letter, click here.