The 3 - December 29, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes news of a case the U.S. Supreme Court will be hearing dealing with states setting policy for funding abortion with taxpayer dollars. Also, a Virginia realtor faces punishment due to his faith-related posts on social media.  And, the U.S. Department of Education has announced it will no longer be pressing the issue of allowing males to compete in female sports. 

SCOTUS to hear case of state banning taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood

The governor of South Carolina issued an executive order, according to LifeNews.com, "directing the South Carolina Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) to deem abortion clinics unqualified to receive Medicaid funding." The article stated, "Planned Parenthood and an individual plaintiff immediately sued in federal court, challenging the state’s decision."

A federal district court and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the state, sending the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear it. 

Life News noted that this "is a critically important case that could have a dramatic impact on the ability of the states to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars to the nation’s largest abortion company."

Realtor receives reprimand for Christian social media posts

Wilson Fauber is a 70-year-old real estate agent who has been in the business for over 40 years.  He decided to run for City Council in his hometown of Staunton, Virginia last year, and according to The Christian Post:

Opponents of his campaign uncovered several social media posts from years earlier, including a 2015 post in which Fauber shared his Christian views on marriage, particularly in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of same-sex marriage. At the time, Fauber had posted a Bible-based perspective on the issue, sharing thoughts from the Rev. Franklin Graham and other Christian leaders.

For this, a complaint was registered with the Virginia Association of Realtors, claiming that Fauber had violated the National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics.  The article notes that the code...

...prohibits realtors from using "harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs" related to "race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity."

Fauber, who is also a minister, was found guilty of violating the code. The Post article goes on to say:

Fauber’s attorney, Michael Sylvester, said they are “obviously disappointed” by the decision and are “considering all legal options.”

“The way the NAR rule is being applied, the message is simple: Bible-believing Christian realtors must be silent,” Sylvester added.

A CBN article related that: 

When asked why he believes this is all coming out now in 2024, Fauber said, "Because the National Association of Realtors is woke. The leadership of the National Association of Realtors has made it very clear about their involvement in endorsing and approving of the LGBTQ community, and just recently, just a few weeks ago actually, in Charlottesville, Virginia, the National Association of Realtors provided funding for a Drag Queen Show." 

CBN.com reported that "If the guilty verdict stands, Fauber could face fines as high as $15,000 and possibly lose his license which would likely end his real estate career."

Administration abandons rule change to allow males to compete in female sports

Ever since the U.S. Department of Education announced its rule changes to Title IX, which was intended to provide more opportunities for females in areas of education, including athletics, there has been strong opposition to the action, which would redefine "sex" to include so-called "gender identity" and "sexual orientation."

The Daily Citizen ran a story recently that said:

On Friday, December 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education withdrew its proposed rule forcing schools to permit biological males into girls and women’s sports.

The DOE had released its proposed rule on April 13, 2023, seeking to force schools that receive federal funding to permit students “to participate on a male or female team consistent with their gender identity.”

During the rulemaking process, the Department received 150,000 comments on the proposed rule, each of which it was required to review prior to issuing any final rule. It was also required to respond to significant areas of public concern.

But due to the flood of public comments and concerns, the DOE never issued a final rule, instead opting to withdraw the proposed regulation.

Opposition to the Title IX changes was a key factor, according to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona who is quoted by the Daily Citizen; he said, “The Department recognizes that there are multiple pending lawsuits related to the application of Title IX in the context of gender identity, including lawsuits related to Title IX’s application to athletic eligibility criteria in a variety of factual contexts.” Cardona also stated, “In light of the comments received and those various pending court cases, the Department has determined not to regulate on this issue at this time..."

Alliance Defending Freedom noted on its website: "The Biden administration has attempted to insert gender ideology into Title IX by its general Title IX rule adopted earlier this year, the Biden administration has repeatedly told courts that Title IX alone requires schools to admit men into women’s sports, and activist groups across the country have filed numerous lawsuits to force females to compete against males."