AUGUSTA – Reports that members of the gay community were handing out condoms last week to 13-year-olds visiting the State House has prompted legislative leaders to review policies concerning public events in the Hall of Flags.

During its regular meeting Thursday, the Legislative Council – the governing board of the Legislature – was informed by House Minority Leader David Bowles, R-Sanford, of “inappropriate” activity in the Hall of Flags on May 18. Use of the second-floor hall outside the governor’s office had been reserved by EqualityMaine, a coalition of groups formerly known as the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance. EqualityMaine’s Web site describes the group as the “state’s oldest and largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender political advocacy organization” with more than 1,000 members statewide.

Bowles said he had been informed that some representatives of the Maine Transgendered Alliance had been handing out condoms to groups of 13-year-old pupils visiting the State House. He said brochures printed by the Maine Bureau of Health were also pressed into the teen-agers’ hands that recommended – among other things – the use of condoms by people who “like to have sex with different people.”

Bowles said all of this was going on as a middle-aged man dressed in a pantsuit, tiara and high heels held court in the Hall of Flags. Bonnie Washuk, a columnist for the Lewiston Sun Journal, reported Monday that the man in woman’s clothing identified himself alternately as “Madam Sheena” and “Robert Kennedy” of South Portland. The man described himself as a “queen” in Portland’s 2003 gay pride day parade and that he also has held the title of “duchess.”

“I suspect many parents would be horrified if they knew their children were being accosted by a drag queen and given materials designed for a much older population,” Bowles said.

Bowles said he had heard reports of open bowls of condoms at some of the tables at the Equality Day event and said it was time for the Legislative Council to take a closer look at who is using the Hall of Flags and whether the use is inappropriate when children are present.

House Speaker John Richardson, D-Brunswick, said that while the material might be appropriate for older teens, he found it “disturbing” that someone participating in the Equality Day ceremony apparently did not make a distinction when approaching younger students.

Attempts to reach representatives of EqualityMaine were unsuccessful Thursday.

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Ken Gagnon, D-Waterville, said his teen-age daughter was at the State House the same day as the EqualityMaine event to promote a gay-straight alliance at her school. He said she and others had been challenged and made to feel uncomfortable by individuals apparently opposed to equal rights for gay men and women. The friction, he said, reflects that the State House can be a forum for controversial ideas.

Both Democratic leaders pledged to “get to the bottom” of what happened in the Hall of Flags and try to devise a policy that reflects sensitivity to all State House visitors without restricting free speech and freedom of assembly rights.

Senate Minority Leader Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, was less concerned about free speech issues than sending a message that parents have to question whether it’s a good idea to allow their children to visit the State House.

“I’m just going to say this: It’s 100 percent inappropriate for condoms to be handed out in the State House,” he said.