Event Organizer Refuses to Testify Before House Panel, Saying State Can’t Regulate Privately Funded Conference

An Iowa Republican lawmaker is threatening to subpoena a gay-rights activist who’s refusing to testify before a House panel that’s investigating a safe schools conference for LGBTQ youth.Â

Anti-gay state Rep. Greg HeartsillÂ (photo), who oversees the panel, sent a letter Thursday to the attorney who represents Iowa Safe Schools Executive Director Nate Monson. Iowa Safe Schools puts on the annual Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth, which drew more than 1,000 students, parents and teachers last year and is said to be the largest event of its kind in the nation. Despite its name, the conference is not funded by the governor’s office nor by state tax dollars.

Monson is refusing to testify before the panel, which isÂ looking into allegations from Bob Vander Plaats‘ anti-gay Family Leader group that the 11th annual conference in 2015 includedÂ sexually explicitÂ content.Â

“I would entreat Mr. Monson one more time to reconsider the bi-partisan Panel’s invitation to hear testimony from him regarding the April 3, 2015 Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth,” Heartsill wrote in his letter to Monson’s attorney,Â Nate Boulton, which wasÂ obtained by The New Civil Rights Movement. “I would like to draw your attention to Iowa Code sections 2.15 (1) (b) Powers and duties of standing committees and 2.23 Witness- attendance compulsory as you make your recommendation to Mr. Monson.Â I believe the best outcome for all involved is for Mr. Monson to fulfill his original agreement to meet voluntarily with the appropriate legislators to provide a response to the January 27 report.”Â

PREVIOUSLY:Â Anti-Gay Iowa Lawmaker Says He’s Sick Of Reading About How Anti-Gay He Is

Monson, who’s compared lawmakers’ investigation to a “witch hunt,” told NCRM he doesn’t believe Heartsill, who heads up the panel, has the authority to subpoena him given that the conference is a private event and doesn’t receive state funding.Â

Heartsill, who’s led a hateful two-year campaign against the conference, has said that because taxpayer dollars are used for transportation, there is a public interest in the event.Â

“The issue is huge public policy,” Monson told NCRM. “If a school bus transported kids to a play â€” do legislators have authority over that play?”Â

Boulton wrote to Heartsill recently that Monson’s testimony would “unnecessarily blur the bright line” between the private conference and the state’s regulatory authority.Â

“That is simply a step too far,” Boulton wrote, adding that Monson’s testimony wouldÂ â€œappear to acquiesce to state regulation and oversight of the content of this private organizationâ€™s programming.â€

GOP Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, whoÂ initiated theÂ investigation as chair of the House Committee on Government Oversight,Â called Monson’s refusal to testify “poor form andÂ an escalation,” adding that it “kind of shows guilt.”Â

Monson responded that the investigation is being fueled by lawmakers who are “obsessed” with LGBTQ issues, according to The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier.Â

Heartsill is scheduled to report on the investigation to the full House Oversight committee this week, but Monson said Iowa Safe Schools has no plans to heed any recommendations.Â

This year’s conference is set for April 29 in Des Moines. To support the conference, which is funded entirely by donations, goÂ here. Â To register for this year’s event, go here.Â

Read Heartsill’s full letter below.

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Image of Rep. Heartsill via FacebookÂ