South Florida Real Estate and...

Nestor/Katerina, Politicians hate to lose and will come back again and again on the same issue. We should all rise up in protest for any church that is named directly in legislation. This is a very slippery slope if CT legislators get their way. Rich

Rich- These guys make CA Legislatures look like angels! I will stand by any church that is threatened by government. And you are right, they keep coming back, that is what they do when their bill does not go through.

Yes, all thise Christians who voted for Obama and ignored their consciences should be ashamed of themselves.

I read this, heard it briefly this afternoon on Fox. Thanks for clearing up some questions I had.

We must as a nation stand against this attack on our religious freedom. One of the fundamental rights our forefathers fought and died for. I also read that even though the bill was canceled from going to committee because of the outpouring of phone calls to Capital Hill that it would come back and not just go against the Catholic Church but other religions .

Thanks for getting this out there.

Wow, featured already!  I saw this on the news today, can't remember where.  I'm not surprised they're starting in CT...

Very sad when a religion is singled out for any reason let alone major infringements on basic freedoms.  Hopefully, someone get their act together and realizes that this was a bad idea from the start.  Take care and happy blogging!

I hope everyone who wanted chage without researching these people now know why ignorance is a problem.  They are already looking at the first and second amendment.

It is amazing to me that our country's founding fathers, after 4 hour bible studies wrote the constitution and developed our country's principals.

Now the government is now trying to change everything we were founded on.  Oh poor America, we will get what we deserve if we are not careful. 

Jeff- I had no idea this post would be a featured one. I am glad though, no photos, no clipart, just the facts on an issue that is a fundemental right in our country and that all of us, no matter what religion or not, that we belong to, must stand by the side attack on freedom of religion.

This was on Fox news. Glenn Beck also covered it and as he was covering the story- in real time- the same two guys that drafted this pulled it back and tomorrow's public forum was cancelled.

Missy- I am glad that you were able to get some more facts on this issue. Our poor forefathers, they wanted to protect us from this kind of stuff! They will be back!

Kristina- Unfortunately I have to agree with you. We get what we deserve when we fail our values and principles.

Nicholas- It is about values and principles. When we ignore and walk away from them, we have no promise. We must defend everyone's right to freedom of religion even if we don't agree with their religion.

Jason- The maddening part is that they said that next year they will add 4 more churches to the list. Sounds like singling out religion to me. I don't care what religion you are, you have the right to have that freedom to worship here in the USA.

John- There will be an in and around on the 2nd amendment like a bill in Illinois, yes, you can have the right, but only if you carry a million dollar insurance policy!

We must protect our constitution and our rights under the constitution.

Well, it doesn't mean a thing to me because I'm not religious. I do have a relationship with Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, but I don't really care for religion. They can have it.

There isn't a president, congress or a senate on this planet that has the power to take away true spiritual freedom. Spiritual freedom exists when personal freedom does not. I will continue to go about my business and not get all up in arms because God didn't fall asleep at the wheel and isn't going to be taken by surprise.  Nor am I.  In fact, I was warned about this in the Word. I welcome His will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.  I don't have to fight God's battles for Him - He doesn't need my help.

Hi Katerina~ Yes!  We must protect our rights!  We can NOT let them single out any churches or any religion. Freedom to worship (or not) is our constitutional right!  We can't let the government take this away, EVER!

Yikes!  Katerina, I've heard that some Catholic parishes around the country, with churches built with funds contributed by the local parishioners, were being sort of taken over by the larger entity if the powers that be disagreed with what the local priest and parishioners were doing.  Are you sure that Connecticut isn't legislating for a local "governing board" made up of the people who paid for the church to protect their intererests against the church hierarchy?   It's happening more and more as local groups get into issues where they disagree with Rome - gay rights being one of them.  And it's not just the Catholics. 

I agree that we must protect freedom of religion.  It's just that some of the national and world wide church organizations are starting to get into conflicts with the local churches and ministers.  And it sounds like it's getting complicated.  And government should stay out of it, for sure.

Hi Katerina!  I heard about this today and was not quite sure what the REAL scoop was!  I'm sure our founding fathers are turning over in their graves.  Government needs to stay OUT of our religious affairs (and numerous other things in our lives too)!

Hey, congrats on that little gold star too!

Jessica- I too have a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in so doing, I feel that I am called to be his servant and sometimes to be his soldier. Perhaps it is a part of my calling to fight another day against tyranny and outright attacks on religion. I am religious and I belong to a church that I love to belong to. In fact, my church is the only church in the united states that had an exermination order signed by a governor to kill everyone in our church. Also, sanctioned by congress who turned their backs on the 1st amendment.

I will stand for the rights of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Budhists and whatever other religions there are if their rights are abused by the very government that is supposed to protect those rights. We all have the right to assemble and run our churches and temples and synogues without the interference of government.

God does not need our help,that is right. But should we stand idly by while the constitution which was blessed by God be trampled upon?

God did not need Noah's help but he told Noah to help him. He also told Noah to warn the others, over and over again. He did not need to do that. He knew what their answers were going to be. Jesus knew what his mission was when he came here but he did not just sit idly by while it came to pass. He still overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple.

I also believe that we are our brother's keeper.

Katarina - There is no such thing as separation of church and state.  The prohibition set forth in the 1st Amendment is pretty clear "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,"  Advocates of secular humanism are attempting to remove religion from political discourse - school boards denying access to student religious groups, universities threatening to disband or withhold funding for student groups by requiring them to admit all students (even disruptive non-believers) into the groups, lawsuits challenging the pledge of allegiance and use of in god we trust on money are just a few of many examples.  Bill 1098 is directly aimed at replacing the Catholic Church's structure with a state improsed lay board. Here is the Catholic Church's response to this bill.  If this bill would pass, it would permit the government to regulate the internal governance and rules of the Catholic Church and other religions.  I couldn't agree with the post more. 

Nestor and Katerina,

Great post and you are exactly right. Governments take on an inhuman persona. True, they are extra-human, but they are consituted by humans. Go figure. :)

Steve

Katerina - I was absolutely blindsided by this news.  This was the first I've heard of these Connecticut legislators trying to push through this bill.   No matter what religious beliefs we have, we must all stand up and fight against this type of government intervention.  This was the not the will of our forefathers when they wrote our Constitution.  Thank you for writing about this extremely important issue and I am so happy to see that it has been featured.

Great post. Blood was shooting out of my eyes watching Glenn Beck tonight with Andrew Napolitano and The Knights of Columbus. The government needs to stay out of this! We STILL have a First Amendment! Unreal....

Thanks for the post!  I guess that if you take away the morals(ie religions) of a society, it is easier to play God and do what you think is best whether you have no morals or not.  I guess to some of these "Humanists" Congress shall make laws concerning the establishment of or governing of religions!  Anyway thanks for the heads up, and not only should these guys be voted out of office, maybe they should be forced to pay for the costs involved in sponsering stupid, unconstitutional bills!

Nestor and Katerina, Thank you for taking the time to expose the insanity in the liberal CT government. These people will not stop until they publicly humiliate and destroy all who disagree with them. I can't believe the insanity that is going on in the local and federal government. I am very thankful that God is Sovereign in all of this, otherwise I would be going mad.

Our freedoms are our freedoms...and the constitution granted them to us...regardless of religion.  Excellent post for calling to our attention what congress is about right now...they should be ashamed.

Patricia-This is about self governance. I do understand what you are saying in your comment. And I have researched this also before I wrote the post. My church owns a lot of land too but all of our land decisions are made through our headquarters and by our local congregations and those of us in the congregation. It is more about order and the way our church is set up. We would not want the government to come and change that whether I agree or not. That is not the issue. There is always contention in any formal religious organization. But in this case, the legistlatures wanted to make it so that the priest and the bishop over the parish would no longer have a vote in the matter. It was creating a board of secular laypeople who would have all the votes and that goes against the way the Catholic church runs their operations. It is not up to the government to change how a church does things. I know my church would be up next. IF members don't like the way things are done in a church, they can move on to a different church.

Sen. John Kissel of Enfield, the ranking Senate Republican on the judiciary committee, said that the highest courts in the nation have upheld any church's right to self-governance, dating back more than 100 years.

"This is an egregious attack on not only the Catholic Church, but by implication, all religious institutions in our state,'' Kissel said. "It is in direct violation of the Constitutional right of a church to govern itself, free from government intrusion. ... The public outcry against this proposal has been unparalleled, and the [now-canceled] public hearing on Wednesday is sure to attest to the spirit of religious freedom that still lives on in our country and here in the Constitution State.''

**************************************************************

"State governments have a long history of letting churches govern their property and ministerial issues according to their own internal church laws. These vary from one denomination to another, so at times, it is necessary to have specialized laws for one denomination that respect the principles of that community.

Apparently there was such a law in CT for the non-profit corporations that hold Catholic parish property. Until now, it has followed Catholic church law.

The proposed state law would have violated that respect for internal Catholic church law. It would remove the bishop's normal control over the property and activity of parishes, by giving lay people control of the corporate boards for parishes."  RC ( a comment I found that explains it better than I can)

I believe that your public display of religion is in complete violation of the realtor code of ethics. You are making it clear to any non religious person that you would be far from impartial and more than inclined to treat me differently because of my beliefs. This is in clear violation of article 10 of the code of ethics.

For the sake of argument how is that statement above not true with your actions here?

When involved in the sale or lease of a residence, REALTORS^® shall not volunteer information regarding the racial, religious or ethnic composition of any neighborhood nor shall they engage in any activity which may result in panic selling, however, REALTORS^® may provide other demographic information. (Adopted 1/94, Amended 1/06)

In case of neighborhood I would substitute state.

Pounce if you will.

Katerina: Great post and congratulations on the feature ! I took the liberty to re-blog this to help get it out to others as well.

What is this? First, the government wants to blend religion and politics and now it wants to prohibit religious preferences? Somehow I believe the first over the latter, but I haven't read about this new thing yet. Probably been paying too much attention to real estate.

But I do know two things:

Religion has no place in politics.

Politics has no place in religion.

Christine- Let me state that this was brought up in CT, not DC. Although I truly believe that DC is on the same MO. We must be mindful of wolves in sheep clothing. Ryan's comment is excellent.

Roland- Thanks for the reblog! That is awesome, spread the word. We can not back down. They will be back.

I've reblogged this as well.  See my intro comments.  I studied this a lot in the past.  Needless to say, "separation of church and state" was to prevent the state from persecuting the church and from allowing it's citizens to worship whomever freely.  The ACLU has perverted this.  The founder of the ACLU was convicted of treason and started the ACLU to champion individual's rights over the rights of the whole in order to bring about the downfall of America.  Sound crazy?  I think so.  The perversion of the constitution has gone amuck.  It's really too bad.  Kudos for standing up for every person of faith no matter what the faith is within the United States. 

Shane- I am NOT violationg the code of ethics of the NAR by voicing my 1st amendment right to my freedom of religion. In my post I am not defending one religion over another. I am standing up for all Muslims, all Hindus, all Jews, all Christians, all Budhists, all witches, Vampires and Devil worshipers. No one religion has the rights over another and I never said they did. This is about defending the freedom of all religions. I am not a Catholic and most Catholics priest would probably think I am not a Christian because I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. But would I show them a house unbiased, of course I would. Would I show an atheist a house without bias, of course I would. Just as we have the right to worship and believe in God so does an atheist have the right to not believe in God.

Then how do you explain the fact that there are Christian Real Estate groups, Muslim Real estate groups,etc. are allowed to exist and be members of NAR?

So does that mean that Active Rain is expousing religion by allowing the group on Active Rain called: Christianity and Real Estate? The Secret?

When involved in the sale or lease of a residence, REALTORS^® shall not volunteer information regarding the racial, religious or ethnic composition of any neighborhood nor shall they engage in any activity which may result in panic selling, however, REALTORS^® may provide other demographic information. (Adopted 1/94, Amended 1/06)

This paragraph you included in your comment is about panic selling. I am not panic selling.  This article has nothing to do with my stating on my blog an attack on religion.

If this were the case, then all the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu real estate groups would be shut down. Katerina

Katerina :

We disagree on execution.  I believe that God has ordained a system of establishment principals in which I can do my civil and God given right to bring about change: Vote. I am not religious, so it doesn't really bother me on a personal level the way that it obviously does you.  Yes, it is part of our Constitution, but as I said on another post:  Our leaders are nothing more than mirror reflection of the people that voted them in. What do you people expect?  Are you really that shocked and outraged?

I believe that Jesus Christ controls history.

I believe that law of sowing and reaping indicates that a nation reaps exactly what it sows 

I believe that it's not leaders that change a nation, but the attitude of the people towards the truth.

" . I am religious and I belong to a church that I love to belong to. In fact, my church is the only church in the united states that had an exermination order signed by a governor to kill everyone in our church."

Yet, you're still here...

As I was saying: They can legislate whatever they want.  People still drink and drive. People still commit crimes.  People will continue to seek out religion as they see fit. I don't get all worked up about it. I recognize it for what is and don't get all bent out of shape about it.

Actually, He did need Noah.  See, there was a promise made in Genesis about the seed of the woman and there had to be line to continue.  Part of God's essence is immutability and veracity. He is incapable of telling a lie.  To wipe out the human race in the flood and not have the line would have been a violation of God character - which He cannot do.  But, I really don't care to get into about 40 different points of Doctrine with you.

Jesus also went to the cross, but I don't recommend you nailing yourself to a tree any time soon.  There is a time and place for righteous indignation and there is also a lot of doctrine to cover to explain the why's of that action.  I however would prefer to allow righteous indignation be handled by a person that knows all the facts and has absolute righteousness.  Not me.

As far as being your brothers keeper, and the context of that message - I will just say that I can turn to 3 or 4 verses of scripture and string it all together and it will tell you to go out and hang yourself. (not that I am saying that you or anybody should - God forbid. I'm just saying...)  That's where rightfully dividing the word of truth comes into play. And, nothing will change until peoples attitudes change towards the truth.

Have you ever wondered why the towers came down On September 11^th?  Why that date.  Research it a bit.  Have you ever wondered why it was almost 7 years to the day that (September 08, 2008) that we had a huge economic crash?  It's all explainable and comes under the 5 cycles of discipline that a nation undergoes.  Again, another 40 or so points of doctrine - if people care to learn truth and do something about it. 
The bottom line is that you do your job unto the Lord and if that's being a soldier - happy crusading to all of you!  I recognize things for what they are because I've already been told what is going to happen.  Changing congress or the senate doesn't mean a thing.  It only matters when the people change. Our attitude towards truth (God's word) is what brings change to a Nation.

Your 1st ammednment right means nothing because you are bound by the code of ethics. You are most definitely making it clear that you would be unable to perform professionally with someone who did not have the same religious views as yourself. It doesnt matter what religion you are and who said that I wasnt religous? This is about you as a professional and you are making it clear that anyone with a disenting view is not welcome. You have also quite clearly pointed out in your original post that while the catholic church in your view is not welcoming well "The Catholic church is being attacked and sought out because of their strong stance against abortion, destroying embryos and same sex marriage" Then you go on. By publicly denouncing these beliefs you are creating an atmosphere that simply does not tolerate someone else's view point. That is what some would call harrassment and in the least intolerance and anyone can clearly see that this is exactly what it is.

You cant create an atmosphere of hate and intolerance and then pretend you arent taking sides and could act impartially.

Again just pointing out an alternative argument feel free to jump in.

Katerina,

The strangest thing about these secular humanist and atheist is that their beliefs have all the qualities of a traditional religion except for their deity de jour. Just like many other evangelist they believe every one else is wrong.

This country was founded on "Freedom of Religion" this got perverted to the singular "Freedom From Religion" because the more traditionally religious were no more tolerant than the anti-religious!

God help us!

None of us will be free until the religious tolarate the non-religious!

Bill

This is not a topic for active rain. You need to take this crap somewhere else. Peace bitch

Katerina,

Bravo!!!! Thank you for your post and your dedication to our Great Country and Constitution. As a Catholic I am proud to call you a friend and a Fellow American!!!

We must continue the good fight together!!

Bill,

Great insight as well!!

Wow, Keep your eyes wide and ears peeled back because satan is on the prawl to take whatever you'll allow him to. The Bible says to "Ask and ye shall receive" It doesn't say how many times we should ask so I beleive we need to stand up and ask, ask ask more times than our opposition. We can not sit on the sidelines as though this is a game to watch. This is real life that needs real people getting involved, taking action to preserve the word of God in our communities. I'm not interested in a future where I'm sitting in a living room with my grandchildren talking about the freedoms we lost because we simply sat on a bench and watched it play out. Great post and I'll pray this one thru it's end.

Shane,

You are so off base it is ridiculous. Below is a great explanation of the 1st Amendment. You are wrong Shane it does matter. Katerina has every right of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of religion not freedom from religion.

Connecticut cancels Catholic Church control

posted at 4:10 pm on March 10, 2009 by Ed Morrissey

It's remarkable what a little publicity can accomplish.  Take, for example, Connecticut lawmakers Mike Lawlor and Andrew McDonald, who pledged to support and defend the US Constitution as part of their public duties.  After their attempt to dictate the structure of the Catholic Church in Connecticut resulted in outrage and derision, they finally got around to reading the founding document:

Following the biggest political firestorm of the 2009 legislative session, a public hearing scheduled for Wednesday on the financial and administrative management of the Catholic Church has been canceled. The bill is dead for the rest of the legislative session.

As soon as word spread about the bill, the Legislative Office Building was flooded with telephone calls and e-mails on Monday. The bill, virtually overnight, became the hottest issue at the state Capitol.

The cancellation came less than 24 hours after Senate Republican John McKinney of Fairfield called for the cancellation, saying that his caucus was unanimously against the bill because they believe it is clearly unconstitutional.

It's more than a belief.  The First Amendment makes that clear:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

After many people wondered aloud how Lawlor and McDonald managed to graduate their high-school civics class, they finally admitted that their bill to strip Catholic bishops of authority over parishes had, well, overreached - but they blamed Connecticut for their confusion:

For reasons that are unclear, Connecticut has had generations-old laws on the books singling out particular religions and treating them differently from other religions in our statutes.  That doesn't seem right.

You're just figuring that out?

In fact, many of our existing corporate laws dealing with particular religious groups appear to us to be unconstitutional under the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. If that is correct, any changes to that law would likely also be unconstitutional.

No kidding!  And your solution was to expand those laws?

With that in mind, it would serve no useful purpose to have a conversation about changing the laws that govern existing Roman Catholic corporations until we know if any of these existing laws are constitutional.

Did it not occur to Lawlor and McDonald that legislating the structure of a religion is not a useful purpose for government at all, and not just when they've discovered that they goofed by expanding unenforced and unenforceable laws on their books?  In what way does the state of Connecticut have any "useful purpose" in designing church management structures?

They're embarrassed, but they still haven't learned why.  (via David Freddoso at The Corner, who scathingly refers to this as the Henry VIII Bill)  The Anchoress has more.

Update: Some in the comments say that Lawlor and McDonald only have to worry about the state constitution, not the federal Constitution.  I beg to differ - here's the oath of office, emphasis mine:

You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, so long as you continue a citizen thereof; and that you will faithfully discharge, according to law, the duties of the Office of State Representative to the best of your abilities; so help you God.

States cannot infringe on rights enumerated in the Constitution.  That explicitly includes the right to free speech, assembly, redress of grievances, bearing arms, protection against unreasonable search and seizure, and protection against self-incrimination, among others.  Any state law that infringes on these are unconstitutional and invalid.

Shane -

Did you know it's illegal to practice law without a license?

And regarding NAR's Standard of Practice 10-1, which you correctly point out, does begin, "When involved in the sale or lease of a residence,..."  -  briefly describe for us said residence, with which Katrina is allegedly "involved", would you?  And for bonus points, is the transaction she's allegedly "involved in" (with the afore mentioned property, which I'm sure you've both identified and described for us by now), a sale,  or a lease transaction?

As for your cavalierly substituting State for neighborhood, that might fly in SecondLife, or some other fantasy world, but NAR's COE was actually written by real attorneys, who are paid quite well to write what they mean - and they wrote a Code of Ethics, not law, and they chose "neighborhood".  If they had meant for 10-1 to encompass a state, county, city, town or any other geographical entity, they would have written it to reflect said entity.

Lastly, on tolerance - the mere fact that Katarina and others don't immediately delete your comments in those instances when they're pure pap, is in itself a bold testament of their tolerance!

Jeff

Katerina, Excellent post. I think's it's ridiculous to suggest that your stance on freedom of religion results in  intolerance on your part for those who do not agree with you.

"When involved in the sale or lease of a residence, REALTORS^® shall not volunteer information regarding the racial, religious or ethnic composition of any neighborhood nor shall they engage in any activity which may result in panic selling, however, REALTORS^® may provide other demographic information. (Adopted 1/94, Amended 1/06)"

A violation of the above would be when an agent is working witha buyer/seller client, and he/she is having discussions about the religious makeup of a neighborhood.This would be a violation of the code the same as it is when dicussing racial or ethnic makeup.

I think's it's pretty clear that Katerina has not done this with her post. I am a Catholic. I agree with what Katerina is saying. Does that mean that I will represent only Catholics? That is ridiculous.

I will represent a buyer if they are financially qualified to buy, without doing anything illegal. Period. I am sure Katerina feels the same.

Good Morning everyone! I had no idea how hostile and emotional this one post could become. Thank you all for your opinions, support and for your standing up for the freedom of religion. I will bite my tongue to prevent myself from spending all day defending my writing and whether I believe I am a good member of NAR or not. That actually is getting off topic to a subject for another post. I will contact the NAR people I know in the Ethics department and get some feedback and then write a post that I am sure will get attacked based on Shane's opinion of me.

Let me say this, Shane has his freedom of speach also. Even though this is my blog and I can delete the comments if I chose to do so, with my freedom of my blog:) I have decided not to delete. In fact, I have been and continue to be attacked for many of my beliefs and business ideas, etc. Even down to the longtail keyword posts I have written- you should see some of those attacks. In that department I believe that Shane would even come to my defense as I do read his blog.

As for the one that is calling me a bitch, must not be a member of Active Rain because it clearly states in the community guidelines not to put people down in such a manner. You can call me a bitch all day long, that is a female dog and I was born in the Chinese year of the Dog; which makes me a loyal and good person :) so I take that as a compliment :)  Katerina

Bravo, Katerina!  Give me a good dog any day! ;)

Shane- Great effort to get us off the track to what this post is really about. After sleeping on it I decided that I would NOT allow this post to be moved in the direction you are pointing it to which is away from what is going on in the CT Legistlature. I will post another post to what the NAR code of ethics means.

But one statement before we go back to the issue at hand- You did not address even one statement in my response back to you. I answered your comment and you did not respond in kind. Your response was not in alignment to anything I said in my comment.

So now you are my judge and jury?   I think that I exhibit my tolerance by NOT deleting your comments.

Jessica- You are an amazing woman and I respect your beliefs and opinions and your friendship. Thank you for commenting- we can agree to disagree. That is just fine, we are civilized and mature ladies who can debate openly without pissing on each other. I wanted to say that to you last night but I had to get some sleep!

Katrina - I am deeply disturbed by the blatant attempts at controlling the activities of religious organizations in Connecticut. It has also been tried elsewhere in one form or another. Religious organizations are already required to follow federal hiring rules, especially in regards to discrimination

I expect that soon, once the atmosphere is declared government property, that there will be more attempts to regulate religious expression outside of a controlled environment. After all, there are already attempts to remove religious broadcasting from radio and TV, citing the so-called separation of church and state. Unless maybe if it is Muslim, because that is considered cultural.

But I also want to say the even organized religions support the suppression of the practice of religious that they disagree with. How about bigamy in the Mormon church, snake handling, or Sharia law in the U.S. Now, I am not supporting any of these, but we really can't pick and chose which laws, against religious practices, we should be promoting and which fighting.

Shane - aren't you also, then violating the N.A.R. C.O.E.? You are making it abundantly clear, using the same criteria you apply to katrina, that you could not work with someone believing differntly than you.

John Hudson - with comments like Peach B....., it is obvious that you don't belong on active rain.

Vickie- Thank you for your support!

Debe- Thank you for commenting! I appreciate your support. I was quite surprised at the gold star:) But very happy about it because more people got to find out what is going on.

Whew!!

As a citizen you can say what you want that is your right. You can be a racist. You can be a bigot. You can do what you want that is the core fundamental of free speech.

As a Realtor we have a code of ethics that strictly forbids any of the above speech.

So no you dont have the right to say what you want and if you think that you do then maybe you should not be a Realtor.

My point was that when you talk about this kind of stuff in public you create an atmosphere. If this atmosphere potentially makes someone uncomfortable for their beliefs then it is reasonable that they might feel that you would do the same were they working with you. Thats how discrimination starts. Notice my first sentence. If I made any of these statements publicly it is no different than had I publicly said anything above. Anything you say publicly such as your stance on gay rights could rightfully lead someone to the belief that you would treat them differently for their beliefs. Whether I quoted the right section or not doesnt really matter.

I never said at any point how I feel. My point is that as a Realtor you cant just say what you want at the expense of other people.

Ryan- I am reposting your comment here because you said it better than I could or did:

"Katarina - There is no such thing as separation of church and state.  The prohibition set forth in the 1st Amendment is pretty clear "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,"  Advocates of secular humanism are attempting to remove religion from political discourse - school boards denying access to student religious groups, universities threatening to disband or withhold funding for student groups by requiring them to admit all students (even disruptive non-believers) into the groups, lawsuits challenging the pledge of allegiance and use of in god we trust on money are just a few of many examples.  Bill 1098 is directly aimed at replacing the Catholic Church's structure with a state improsed lay board. Here is the Catholic Church's response to this bill.  If this bill would pass, it would permit the government to regulate the internal governance and rules of the Catholic Church and other religions.  I couldn't agree with the post more. "

Thank you for this comment Ryan. This is SO important for people to understand. Nestor went to the bank the other day to get the gold coins. HE came home, looked at them and they had removed the words, In God we trust. He brought them right back to the bank, told them he will never ask for the gold coins again until they put those words back on.

Great post Katrina.  I did not know about this, so I am very glad I read your post this morning. I am going to forward to my friends and family. 

I just want to reiterate this one sentence...

Remember always: When the people have freedom of religion, the government fears the people When the government takes away freedom of religion- the people fear the government.

Shane- SO bring me up on these charges at my board. I have been a Realtor for many years and have never been charged with unfair treatment of another human being.

I disagree with what you are saying. I am politically active in my community as a Realtor and as a citizen, mixing the two is what we do down here. I am a huge proponant against taxes. I write publicly against raising property taxes, income taxes, etc. I am a huge private property rights person and speak openly against that. Does that mean I would be unfair to those who love to be taxed? I am also pro life and publicly defend the life of the unborn. That is NOT in violation of the NAR code of ethics either. If they want to kick me out because of that, let them. But until they do, I will speak my mind publicly as that is my duty to myself, my God, my fellow citizens. 

Again, that is a debate for another post yet I stand by my belief that I am not in violation of this paragraph. You have stated it out of context and tried to fit my beliefs within it on your own. 

As far as working with sellers. Like kind attracts like kind. I attract to my business those who are on the same wave length as I am. The consumers have their free choice to work with me or not. They can see who I am through my transparency in my writing. I am not a politically correct person nor do I pretend to be someone I am not. I am not a phoney.

Reblogged and sent to my elected representatives. Gotta get this out to everyone to see.

Kevin- They took away my gold star! I guess someone complained cause they can't handle a healthy debate! Amazingly petty people!

Kevin- Thanks too for the reblog. Now that is the only way we can spread the word.

"They took away my gold star! I guess someone complained cause they can't handle a healthy debate! Amazingly petty people!"

Well you know what they say, "The Lord giveth.  The Lord taketh away!"  :)

I respect your opinion too.  We don't have to agree.  Isn't life just grand?

Steve- Thanks for your comment. Our forefathers wrote the constitution precisely to protect us from this type of tyranny.

Donna- You live there and got blindsided. This is the very essence of the people's anger towards these people who try to slide their agenda through without us knowing about it and without open public forums to debate these issues. We must be ever more diligent in our keeping tabs on these issues in our state and federal governments. I heard that Dodd's rating went way down, 66% said they won't vote for him in 2010.

Jessica- I don't think it was the Lord who took it away,:) No sense me crying over spilt milk. Or maybe you are on to something, maybe it served its' purpose and then was erased. I tend to think that free will of petty people was involved,LOL! Make it a wonderful day! You rock on!

Wendy- Your comment below is reposted below. Glenn said that blood be shooting out of your eyes!

"Great post. Blood was shooting out of my eyes watching Glenn Beck tonight with Andrew Napolitano and The Knights of Columbus. The government needs to stay out of this! We STILL have a First Amendment! Unreal...."

Rebecca- Pass it on! That is great, spread the word. I stand to fight another day:)

Katerina - Wow, how did I miss this impassioned comment generator.  "Remember always: When the people have freedom of religion, the government fears the people When the government takes away freedom of religion- the people fear the government."  What a wonderfully wise quote.  I'm kind of in the same boat of Jessica on religion.  And as far as Tea Party Time, some of these politicians are making that seem like a very ripe idea.

I am Mortified!  These so called Christians who pretend to be such get into office and then they turn like snakes.  We have so few rights left in this country.  I will standup and fight to keep my freedom of my religion.  We who are Christians have set back long enough and let these politicans begin turning our Country into a Police State.  What and who does that remind you of?  HELLO, he ran the Natzi army.  My brother lost his life fighting for our Freedom in WWII as many others did and I won't let it be said that they died for naught. These politicans that are guilty of this should be disgraced and put out of office so they could waller with their kind in the pits.

Tony and Darcy- the best thing we can do with our right to vote is exactly that, vote them out of office.

Jason- Well, you might have seen it up on the reader board last night before the gold star was taken away or not:) Yes, this post unleashed passion didn't it! Making sure we are still alive:) When the juices start flowing, adrenelin churns, pen to hand with heart involved, the tempest stirs the soul to move. 

Thanks for joining in.

Steven- Thank you for your comment. You are right. And as for me too, knowing God is God and he will prevail no matter what, gives me solice. Providence guides as long as God is put first. When we turn away from morality and truth, we are left to our own consequences.

Reblogged 3 times already! Thanks for spreading the word! Feel free to post on blogs, platforms, anywhere you feel someone will read it and begin to make a difference.

Tea parties are spreading all over the country.

Elizabeth- Thanks for contributing with your comment. Religion has no place in politics but Providence does. Those are 2 totally seperate things.

Larry- Thanks for the reblog too! I will go and read your intro today. Trying to keep up with the comments:) Interesting info that I did not know about the ACLU.

Ruth- This is why we need to be on our toes and vote, vote, vote

oh,

And Join the Tea Party!

Bill- Thank you for your comment and opinion. The founding forefathers wanted to make sure the government would not be controlled by one religion and that each person here would be able to worship God in the way they choose to do so.

I got to get some work done, I will be back to finish returning comments after I teach my webinar this afternoon! Thanks all, keep 'em coming!

Alice- Thanks so much! For your support and for calling me your friend. I will stand by you.

Thanks as well, for sticking up for me and supporting me in the NAR issue going on. I will write another post about that subject once I get the info from my contacts on the ethics committee at NAR headquarters.You know only the other side can ever say things without researching first and getting the facts straight. But the attacks are  just a diversion to get us off topic. Katerina

Mark- You are right and thank you for leaving a comment. I will stand idly by either. I am called to defend the constitution by being born in this great country. That included protecting every person's right to worship and run their churches, temples, buildings, the way they feel spiritually led to do so.

Jeff- WOW! Thanks for that!  I do believe that I have not violated any NAR code of ethics. I am reporting what was already in the news. I did not delete Shane's comments even though they are not on the subject matter even. This post has to do with legislature and just because I am a member of NAR does not preclude me from being a part of that conversation. Thanks!

Michael- Yes, you are right. Secularists have had this on their agenda for many years. They are now making headway as the climate has become right for them and too many of us looked the other way for too long.

Katerina - After reading your post and every comment, we want to thank you for speaking up and speaking out!  Our Constitution is being trampled by those who are elected to uphold it.  And our religious freedoms are becoming part of the 'politically correct' movement!  We are both convinced that this government would like nothing better than to control religion and to legislate free speech (for others, not themselves).  It seems to be their ultimate control! 

What is sad is the 'hate speech' and name calling that goes on - even on AR.  There is no discussion for some - if it is not their way, they have no civility.  It's also disturbing that AR chooses sides by removing your gold star. 

Thank you again for this post.

Bruce & Mary

Barb- Thanks! Yes, I will treat every buyer or seller the same without regard to their religion or anything regards to fair housing.

You are right, the paragraph that Shane points out has nothing to do with the conversation or my post. It has to do with selling a home to a person within a specific neighborhood. Of course, this spurred me to research this subject and write a post about it.:) I love a good clean debate. But to call me unfit to be a realtor and to assume that I would be biased is really hitting below the belt! Katerina

Bruce and Mary- I will not really hold the gold star against the AR guys. That was a business decision on their part. This is their business and they can do whatever they feel is in their best interest. It is the crybabies, complainers that I have an issue with! The far left for sure wants to control everything we say or do even here on the Rain. Very petty and not becoming of adults. I never likes snitches much anyhow:)

Even more important to remember that the landlord can always change the keys. Build your outside of AR presence, which I have not done!

The putting me down and calling me a bitch, well, I can take the heat. Part of the program when you write with passion and from the center or the right:) If we do hate speach then we are bad, if they do hate speach, it is fine.

Once I had two posts in a row featured. Bob had to call me and ask me which one to take down because someone complained!!!!! In fact, Rich had featured a very funny post I wrote and there were people who wrote on my post that it was funny but should not have been featured! Like, who are they to judge!!!??!!

We must protect our freedom of religion. We must stand up and vote these guys out of office!!! The main stream media is NOT going to cover these stories because they are in bed with those that are making the new rules and the new raw deal! Katerina

Tea Party!

Mike Saunders- Thank you for your support and your comment. You make some very good points.

I don't care much of what people do in other religions and I also know that much of what we hear is not true. I have experienced and  been on the end of the prejudice and lies about my religious beliefs and church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, better known as the mormons, believe in obeying the law of the land. That is why there is no polygamy or bigamy in the church today and those that do practise those are excommunicated. When Brigham Young led the pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley it was to move out of the US territory and Utah at the time was not part of the US. There was an extermination order by Governor of Missouri to kill all mormons because of their beliefs. When Utah was going to become a part of the Union; the church stopped their practice of polygomy. They would follow the law of the land. Just like the LDS in other countries, if their Sabbath for that country is on Friday or on Saturday then that is when the LDS will honor the Sabbath. Here it is on Sundays. They don't go around trying to change the laws of different countries to suit what day they believe the sabbath to be on. Today, the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is filled with law abiding citizens who uphold the laws of the land and do not do things contrary to the constitution.

But I have been victim of some pretty nasty attacks even by organized religions who have papered my home with anti- mormom I am going to hell propaganda and verbally abused my children when they were young. But I will still stand by those same people if their right to freedom of religion was attacked.

Now the issue of muslim honor killings is against the law because murder is against the laws of this land. So honor killings that may be accepted in another country can not be accepted in the US even based on religous freedom because it is against the law to kill.

This is even more reason why we must pay attention to wolves in sheep clothing in our government because they use these extremes to justify their actions against religion.

This is another reason why we must protect our religious freedom in this country because there are things that some religions do that seem wierd to others yet are not against the law. IF they are not killing and hurting others or themselves than those religions should be protected with their rights. I don' t agree with people actually believing they are vampires yet if that is what they want to believe who am I to judge them to say they can not believe that or put in those fangs for teeth? I know this is an extreme but on the history channel they actually had a program about these people not too long ago. Katerina

No freaking comment.

No more violation of rights.  I hate it when your rights are yanked from right under your feet don't you?

Rebecca- Yes, I know how that feels too! Many times throughout my life, some were even permission based by me :( But you know what, I stand to fight another day. I will always stand by someone whose rights are being yanked, no place for that in our constitution. Of course, these days, some people think of entitlements as rights too :) But I do know what you mean; the rights afforded to us by God and our constitution.

The original comment above relating to NAR Code of Ethics is misguided.  Here is the text from the NAR Code of Ethics:

Article 10 - REALTORS^® shall not deny equal professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. REALTORS^® shall not be parties to any plan or agreement to discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. (Amended 1/90) REALTORS^®, in their real estate employment practices, shall not discriminate against any person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. (Amended 1/00)

Standards of Practice 10-3 - REALTORS^® shall not print, display or circulate any statement or advertisement with respect to selling or renting of a property that indicates any preference, limitations or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. (Adopted 1/94, Renumbered 1/05 and 1/06)

Where is the violation?  Please someone point out where the original post can be interpreted as a violation.  These provisions relate to discrimination based on religion in the performance of our duties as Realtors (not citizens commenting on unconstitutional legislation).  More importantly, the post goes out its way to clearly state that the author is opposed to a state law which would interfere with the lawful internal governance of the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Connecticut and that the author is opposed to the Catholic Church being singled out by two Connecticut state legislators.  Further, the post indicates that her position would be the same for any religion.  Clearly, this is not an indication of a preference for any particular religion.

It seems that the comment is intended to chill or silence all political speech by any Realtor on a host of political and moral issues ranging from abortion to immigration.  For example, if I support tougher immigration standards or even border security (which are political issues) and speak out, would I be accused of discriminating against persons based on ethnicity?  The provision cited in the comment is intended to prohibit discrimination in sale and rental of property as well as the denial of equal services.  It was not intended to deter political speech. 

On a historical note,, here are two Americans that I hold in high esteem because they offered Americans hope:  John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagen.   Both believed that Americans should not be discriminated against based on religion.  At the same time, both believed that Americans should not be disqualified from holding office or from participating in political debate because of their religious beliefs.

Here is Kennedy's comments:

But I do not intend to apologize for these views to my critics of either Catholic or Protestant faith; nor do I intend to disavow either my views or my church in order to win this election.  If I should lose on the real issues, I shall return to my seat in the Senate, satisfied that I'd tried my best and was fairly judged.  But if this election is decided on the basis that 40 million Americans lost their chance of being President on the day they were baptized, then it is the whole nation that will be the loser, in the eyes of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world, in the eyes of history, and in the eyes of our own people.

Here is Reagen's comments:

We establish no religion in this country, nor will we ever. We command no worship. We mandate no belief. But we poison our society when we remove its theological underpinnings. We court corruption when we leave it bereft of belief. All are free to believe or not to believe; all are free to practice a faith or not. But those who believe must be free to speak of and act on their belief, to apply moral teaching to public questions

So I ask:  When did NAR prohibit or declare unethical political speech on a constitutional issue like freedom of religion?  Of course, it didnt. 

Ryan- Thanks for that! I appreciate the work you went through to put together your comment. I know it is just to derail us from the discussion at hand. That is what they do when they don't like something we say, they attack.

Thanks again for your details as well since the removal of the gold star came swiftly and suddenly- obviously to me, someone cried that freedom of religion is not allowed to be on Active Rain's front page or that I am in violation of the code of ethics and AR does not want to be a party to that. IT is their company, they can do what they want. I have seen much more opinionated posts get and stay featured. I will bite my tongue now.

Katerina, kind of scary what this country is doing, the moral direction it has taken for the worst!  Looks like someone at AR is also buying into squashing the freedom of speech?  That doesn't sounds like AR, I hope they reconsider.... because your viewpoint reflects a MAJORITY of members on this site!

Regina- yes, scary that is. Especially when our free speach is squashed on top of it all! You can't say anything of moral value without being accussed of being a racist, biased, not progressive, etc.

WOW!  That is all I can say....

Your conviction is inspiring and it make you a stronger person. I agree with you all religions should be left alone unless the are breaking our laws.

I personally feel that the separationbetween Church and State needs be complete. Churches shouldn't lobby or try to influence the government as an organization but it is the right and duty of every citizensto express their wishes to the government and the Government in turn needs to stay out of the churches business.

Ray- Thank you, I truly am compassionate about my principles, values and in making a difference in the lives of others, to leave this world a better place when I pass on. I appreciate your stating your personal opinion. Always welcome here.

Pat- This post was reblogged 4 times. That gives me great confidence that people care enough to step up.

I find it amazing that whoever went and complained to AR is not brave enough to admit it. In business, we all must be open, honest, and brave. The person probably feels that they adhere to a code of ethics, but I have my doubts. Adhering to a code of ethics would require them to be forthright, not hide in the shadows.

Government is supposed to stay out of our religious lives. Lets keep them out of our religious affairs.

I gave this article the first gold star in Tea Party.

Katerina, God Bless You, Reading some of these comments  can bring some very unChristianlike thought s into my mind. But remember although we may lose some battles in the end we already know we have won the war.

Hugh- You are so right! We win the war. I'm on the Lord's side, first and foremost.

Kevin- Thank you for the honor of having the first gold star in the Tea Party!

I do want to make it clear that Shane did not complain about the featured post.

Katerina - yay for you and this post!  I have nothing to add that hasn't already been said and said well, but I wanted to say how much I appreciate not only the post but your courage of conviction.   

Hey Kat

I have been gone, and the drama continues here    

best wishes

Katerina, I commend you for standing up for our rights. 

Last week  was a busy one for me and I am now catching up here on AR.  Question.  The 5th comment on this post says: "I'm not surprised they're starting in CT..."

What do you think that was suppose to mean?

Wow - I am just speechless - or typeless.  Who comes up with these crazy ideas and wants to take everyone's rights away?

Ouch!  Katerina, This must be the place you spoke about in your passion post (just catching up)  shane oops I mean shame on some people!  If you don't like the freedoms provided for by our forefathers we invite you to leave this great country.    Great post Katerina!  Thanks for sharing this horrible attack on our freedom...people need to know the truth.

Marlene- I think that comment has something to do with Dodd. Ya think?

Sara- Yes, it was that post! Stay tuned for my new post- if you believe in the constitution, you just may become an enemy of the state:( Wait to see what other bits of laws they are trying to pass as we are so focused on hanging rich people up to dry- you should see what the news in England has discovered!

April- Stay tuned- I have 3 more coming at ya! You will know George Washington is turning over in his grave!

Susan- Thank you! I am fearless against tyranny! I know that I am on the right side of the constitution and that the constitution was blessed and inspired by God. So I know who's side I am on. I am NOT politically correct and don't apologize for my beliefs.

Mike- Good to see you around!

Marlene- I hope you guys make sure he does not win this next term! Term limits is the only answer to these guys' ego trips!