Dennis RomeroPorn stars are getting hot and bothered over a proposed state law that would require condom use in adult video.
Condoms are already required for such production in most of L.A. County and at on-location shoots in the city of Los Angeles.
See also: Porn's Mandatory Condom Bill Passes Key Hurdle
But the industry, which fought those local rules tooth-and-French-manicured-nail, really, really, really doesn't like this bill, AB 1576, by local state Assemblyman Isadore Hall:
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The adult trade group known as the Free Speech Coalition announced last night that nearly 500 performers have signed a petition asking legislators in Sacramento to vote no on the bill.
Getting 500 adult performers to do anything is a feat, and we mean that: That the business even has nearly 500 active performers, at a time when adult-film permit requests in Los Angeles have nearly vanished, is eye opening.
The coalition argues that the law, if passed, would force producers to keep a “log” of porn stars' “sexual activities” on-set. It says criminal penalties could result for not using condoms. And it says performers would have no right to federally mandated medical privacy.
Perhaps its most interesting argument is that the law would violate adult filmmakers' right to free speech by forcing them to make content that looks a certain way (with condoms). However, that argument was tested in court unsuccessfully.
The Free Speech Coalition says a delegation of folks from the business is traveling to Sacramento today and will formally present 463 signatures to lawmakers at the Assembly Committee on Appropriations tomorrow.
Porn star Lorelei Lee says:
File photo of Ron Jeremy.; Credit: Gustavo Turner for LA Weekly
This is an insulting and paternalistic bill. This shows a total disregard for performers' autonomy and threatens a vital safety infrastructure that we have spent ten years building. AB1576 squanders resources addressing a problem that doesn't exist. If the bill becomes law, it will, in fact, harm the people it claims it will protect.
The industry says condom porn doesn't sell and that requiring prophylactics will only force production underground, where things would be more dangerous for sex workers.
Porn leaders say a twice-a-month testing system for performers works. The business has threatened to take production out of state, although it's not really clear if that's happening even as mandatory condom rules cover most of L.A.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has been behind the mandatory condom movement, says adult performers need to be protected under the law (federal rules say workers aren't supposed to be exposed to blood-borne pathogens on the job) just like any other employee.
Diane Duke, chief of the coalition, says:
We are a small community, and not always the most political, but outrage has come from all areas of the industry – gay, straight, trans, fetish, studio and independent – to fight against a bill that criminalizes sex between consenting adults.
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