One Iowa in the News: Vander Plaats to Branstad--Anti-bully conference is advocating tolerance of harmful behavior

from The Des Moines Register.

Bob Vander Plaats has written a Valentine’s Day letter to Gov. Terry Branstad, again calling for Branstad to take steps to remove his title from the “Iowa Governors Conference on LGBTQ Youth.”

“Our goal at The Family Leader is to speak the truth in love,” Vander Plaats, the head of the Iowa Christian conservative organization, wrote. “Ironically, the upcoming 7th Annual Iowa Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning) Youth is exchanging truth for acceptance and tolerance of harmful behavior.”

The conference is the premier event hosted by Iowa Safe Schools, an organization with a mission to protect children and stop bullying, which can lead to poor school performance, increased drop-out rates and child suicide.

Branstad can’t attend the March 8 event because of a scheduling conflict and has declined multiple requests from Vander Plaats’ group to remove his title. On Jan. 30, Branstad told reporters that he believes everyone should be treated with dignity and respect and that people need to help assure that nobody is bullied.

Branstad then went a step further and sent a letter of support to the event, extending his “very best wishes for a successful conference this year and in future years.”

“It is hard these days to take anything seriously that comes from Bob Vander Plaats or the Family Leader,” Jeff Boeyink, Branstad’s chief of staff said today. “It is sad and attention-seeking, and does nothing to move our state forward.”

Troy Price, the executive director of One Iowa, the state’s largest civil rights organization focused on rights of gay and lesbian residents, issued the following statement:

“It is unfortunate that Bob Vander Plaats is continuing his mean-spirited, bullying campaign. What message does it send that a man who is supposed to be the leader of the social conservatives in this state continues to pick on Iowa kids who are so often bullied and harassed in schools. Vander Plaats and the Family Leader should be ashamed of themselves. Adults picking on kids goes against the very Iowa values of protecting our children that Iowans hold dear. The bottom line is that this is a desperate attempt by Vander Plaats to stay relevant. However, the more he attacks, the more Iowans are starting to see the Family Leader for what it is – a pack of bullies.”

Nate Monson, executive director of Iowa Safe Schools, said the conference is intended to work as opportunity for people of all backgrounds to work together and end harmful rhetoric that causes children harm.

“I am proud that Governor Branstad supports our efforts to ensure all youth including those who identify as LGBTQ are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” Monson said. "We are busy organizing this Governors Conference and are already receiving a record response from hundreds of youth and adults from every corner of the state."

The event has been previously attended by both Republican and Democratic governors or their representatives.

Read the full article from The Des Moines Register.
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