Iowa Legislature panel to investigate LGBTQ youth conference

By James Q. Lynch, The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS - An Iowa legislative panel is planning a hearing on an anti-bullying conference that supposedly provided students with instructions on 'safe” sexual bondage and finding orgies, and encouraged gay and transgender youth to use vandalism against people who don't approve.

House Government Oversight Committee Chairman Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, has called a Nov. 18 hearing to look into the use of tax dollars to pay for students to participate in the Iowa Governor's Conference on LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning) Youth. Despite its name, the conference does not include Gov. Terry Branstad.

Organized by Iowa Safe Schools, the conference, according to the group's website, is meant to educate students and school personnel, parents and community members about the LGBTQ community and issues it faces, and promote diversity, equality and social justice.

In April, about 600 students - middle school through college - attended along with another 400 parents, school personnel and faith communities, according to Nate Monson, the group's executive director.

Most of the content was 'actually about-bullying prevention, which, of course, we all support,” Kaufmann said Tuesday on the Simon Conway Show on WMT Radio, but 'a lot of the material can't be repeated on radio.”

'Several of these breakout sessions were wildly inappropriate and that's where you had these different X-rated, vile things being taught to the kids,” said Kaufmann, who was not at the conference. 'It wouldn't make the cut in an R-rated movie. It would have to be more like an X-rated movie.”

Monson rejected the assertions, saying they are being pushed by lawmakers 'obsessed” with LGBTQ issues. Students, he said, were given sexual health information not widely available in school health classes.

'I think the criticism comes from the fact we were talking to LGBTQ youth about LGBTQ sexual health,” Monson said. 'We want them to be safe.”

Most school health classes provide sexual health information for heterosexuals, 'things like pregnancy, but that's not an issue for LGBTQ youth,” he said.

The 'ultimate irony” for Kaufmann was that one speaker at the anti-bullying conference, he said, advocated vandalism against people who don't support the LGBTQ community.

He was referring to a performance by Miss Coco Peru, the drag persona of actor and comedian Clinton Leupp. As part of the performance. Leupp said that if LGBTQ youth see a car with a bumper sticker promoting traditional marriage, they should 'Reach down inside yourself and give them a blessing … then slash their tires.”

That was taken out of context, Monson said.

'It was a poor joke,” he said. Leupp was talking about the constant reminders, such as bumper stickers, LGBTQ youth see telling them they are 'something less” than straight youth.

'She was talking about finding the inner courage to deal with that,” Monson said.

The Government Oversight Committee hearing won't be so much about the conference itself, but the use of tax dollars to bus students to it and pay participation fees, Kaufmann said.

Monson questioned whether it will be appropriate for the committee to investigate an event largely funded with private support.

Several businesses and professional organizations as well as the University of Iowa were sponsors to the 2015 conference. Another conference is planned in April, Monson said.

He's concerned the hearing will turn into an attack on LGBTQ youth. Kaufmann said that's not his purpose.

'I don't care if the group is liberal or conservative, I really don't care, but it would be a dereliction of my duty if we did not have an investigation into this to expose what happened and, most importantly, make sure it didn't happen again,” he said.