Iowa Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth – Warning Graphic Content

• Branstad yet to comment with public statement about content
• His office’s demurral is that: it was named for a “different governor” and put on by a “private organization”
• The response rings hollow and is inadequate
  

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The following story came to our attention this morning. We are not easily shocked when it comes to what the “lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer (LGBTQ) ” community is capable of in their advocacy, or the hapless, dumbfounded, or cowardly responses by political leadership to their excesses. We were shocked however by the information in the links and excerpts we set forth and the lack of any response from official political leadership anywhere.

The appropriateness for the governor to respond to assaults on the culture and the family, or policies advocated under color or confusion of his official support, should be enough to cause him to loudly, clearly and publicly state his objections on behalf of the people. When direct and indirect tax supported resources are used for such advocacy or assaults by LGBTQ advocates it becomes his solemn duty to put a stop to it.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VERBAL CONTENT, (the picture is mild by comparison)

Excerpts from the Todd Starnes article, writing at Fox News(our annotations in red)

Teens shocked by graphic content at anti-bullying conference

They thought the Iowa Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth was about anti-bullying. Instead, about 1,000 teenagers from more than 100 Iowa communities were treated to a profanity-laced performance by a drag queen along with graphic conversations on oral sex and a transgender tutorial on how to make fake testicles.

(Attendees were as young as fifteen, no report of younger ages)

The April 3rd conference was sponsored by Iowa Safe Schools, a non-profit group that creates “safe and supportive schools” for LGBTQ young people.

Some parents were furious about some of the sexually explicit comments from paid speakers – including a comedian who told the high school students how “pleasurable it is for gay couples to eat each other’s behinds and how to use different flavors of (oils) to make it taste better.”

Bullying is a terrible thing and it is a very real problem in American public schools – for both gay and straight students. Many of the young people who attended the Iowa Governors Conference on LGBTQ Youth did so because they cared about their classmates. They wanted to learn how to stand in the gap for others.

Chronicling students and parent reactions to the program Starness writes:

Television Station Local 5 News obtained cell phone video filmed by a student at the conference – where an attendee asked, “Is anal painful?” . . .

“For paid speakers to be in front of a group talking about how to avoid choking during oral sex – I cannot fathom where that would be an appropriate conversation,” the father told me. .  . .

Tim Miller, the principal of West Des Moines Valley High School, sent me (Starnes) an email confirming that students from his school had attended the event.

“Some students and teachers were surprised by some of the content,” the principal wrote. “Not what they thought they were getting into. That would be the extent of my comments.”  

SOME were surprised ?! . . .  doesn’t that mean some anticipated it, and if so why couldn’t the school officials anticipate the type of content?

The Family Leader, a conservative Christian advocacy group based in Iowa, also weighed in on the controversial conference. They dispatched an observer to document the meeting.

“Anyone with common sense would have to be outraged at what’s being taught to our children,” he told me. “If Iowans heard this – Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative – they would be outraged,” said Bob Vander Plaats, the president of The Family Leader.

Except Iowan’s have not heard a lot about this

According to Vander Plaats’ observer – students were also subjected to a profanity-laced performance by Miss Coco Peru, a self-described drag queen.

Here’s The Family Leader’s take on what Miss Peru told the young people: “People suck. They don’t give a f*ck about you. People thrive on smashing our pride to the ground. People that suck, f*ck you.”

Such a sweet little ditty to send the kids home with

The Family Leader then accused Miss Peru of urging students to vandalize cars belonging to anti-gay people.

“Reach down inside yourself and give them a blessing – then slash their tires.”

I  (Starnes) had a chance to speak with The Family Leader’s observer. She told me students were given advice on medical transitions from male to female and vice versa – along with information on medication to delay puberty.

“They talked about binders – things that compress a girl’s chest to make it appear you don’t have what is there,” the observer told me. “And they talked about how students can make fake testicles by filling pantyhose with rice and sewing them into their panties.”

“This isn’t about being anti-gay,” Vander Plaats said. “This is about a destructive conference for children.”

It is now April 27 and the first substantive reports about the content were April 17th. Fox News outlets did report on the controversy and we found references to one or two other broadcast reports.  However in scanning ten pages of results from a Google search of the name of the conference we found no newspaper expose’ of the controversy, only a few puff pieces regarding the event.  Along that line the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier and the Quad City Times, both of which used the above photo in their online editions,  ran the same Alison Sullivan story, content-free of any suggestion of controversy, and the picture as if it were a normal street scene.

Governor Branstad has remained essentially silent on the matter as his anti-bullying bill was before the legislature and is said to be in jeopardy.  The bill cleared the State Senate 43-7 a month ago which was before the LGBTQ Conference.  The Republican led House is dealing with it now but according to the Radio Iowa report the objections relate to whether there are enough liability protections in the bill.  No mention was made of the LGBTQ conference and any controversy surrounding it.

The Family Leader is registered as opposed to the bill as is The Faith and Freedom Coalition.  Interestingly, so is the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa. Our guess is that they don’t like any limitations on liability that the bill may contain.

The Family Leader website lists sponsors of the conference:  . . .  the business sponsors include:

• Principal Financial Group
• Nationwide
• Office Depot
• The TJX Companies, Inc. (T.J.Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra Trading Post)

A number of school and religious organizations were listed as sponsors as well:

• The Iowa State Education Association
• The University of Iowa
• Iowa Association of School Boards
• School Administrators of Iowa
• Episcopal Diocese of Iowa

We checked the Governor’s website and its news release page and saw nothing relevant to the controversy. We then phoned the Governor’s Office and asked if he had issued any  statement regarding the controversy.  The pat answer from the office respondent was,  words to the effect:  the conference was started by another governor (that would be Vilsack or Culver) and it is a  private organization that sponsors it – Iowa Safe Schools)

We asked about the unchallenged information that the University of Iowa, a publicly owned and financed entity, was listed as a sponsor. The respondent had no response but said she would refer our question to someone who would get back to me.  It is about four hours after that conversation and we have seen or heard nothing else from the governor’s office as we post this.

We also note that public school students were bused to the event. We do not know the official status of the event as a school function or the status of resources used or compensation of any school district employees involved.  If any public resources were used and not privately and fully reimbursed an apology is owed all taxpayers.

The matter of the billing of the event as Iowa Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth we hope is not beyond legal challenge as a misappropriation and misleading. At the very least it is subject to shaming by the Governor himself for its use and the false implications it presents. The Governor should publicly disavow the event for its content as well. If he is not going to say as much then shame on him.

Links to related reading:

Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth not what you think   (Family Leader)

National media discover shocking content of Iowa LGBTQ conference   (Family Leader) –  just not Iowa media

Marxism is the End Game of the Rainbow Jihad   (Town Hall – Steve Deace)