Dennis RomeroPorn stars must wear condoms! Or not.
Well, if you ask L.A.'s AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Mr. Jim Hats is a must. And even though the group lost a 2nd District Court of Appeal case last month in which it argued that L.A. County health officials must make prophylactics mandatory for the Valley's adult video industry, the org is appealing the issue to the top — to the California Supreme Court.
That's according to City News Service, which quotes the latest appeal from AHF:
The statutes in question involve the duty of public health officers to protect the public from the spread of communicable diseases in general, and sexually transmitted diseases in particular. Everyone in the state will benefit from this court's opinion on the extent to which county departments of public health are immune from judicial scrutiny with respect to the actions the agencies takes (or will not take) to fulfill their statutory duty to combat the spread of communicable diseases in the face of a widely acknowledged epidemic.
Porn star Justine Joli.; Credit: justinejoli.com
The whole story is strange because, in fact, condoms are indeed mandatory under federal and state regulations. But the county says it's not the one that should enforce them. And L.A.'s City Attorney has said that while the city could enforce Jimmys, it doesn't have to and doesn't have the resources anyway.
The state does enforce them, Sporadically. It has a resource issue too. State workplace health officials (Cal/OSHA) say federal law says you shouldn't be exposed to “bloodborne pathogens” (that would include sperm) at the office. And thus, condoms. Required.
Interestingly, appeals court Justice Richard Aldrich wrote in last month's denial of AHF's case that ” … the foundation's public policy advocacy is better directed at lawmakers to
change the laws and workplace regulations.”
No judge: The regs are there. But Cal/OSHA, at the behest of AHF, is working on being more specific in language requiring that employees not be exposed to jizz: A new rule focusing specifically on porn is in the works.
AHF has been on a tear against the porn industry, suing the Adult Industry Medical (AIM) clinic out of existence and filing enough complaints with the state that some porn makers like Larry Flynt's Hustler video company have been hit with fines for not employing condoms.
But the big smut makers like Flynt seem to chalk up the fines as the cost of doing business. And the industry in general says it will not adopt condoms — people won't buy videos in which they're used.
And so, the AHF heads to court once more to put pressure government officials.
-With reporting from City News Service. Got news? Email us. Follow us on Twitter, too: @dennisjromero.
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