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L.A. County Votes For Porn Stars To Wear Condoms To Work
Photo by smilemisu via Shutterstock
Last night a measure that would require porn stars to wear condoms easily passed in Los Angeles County: 55 percent of voters in the county voted for it, while 44.1 percent voted against it.
The measure was framed as a worker safety issue by its sponsor the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which argued that the measure would protect performers from the STD scares that periodically plague the adult film community. AHF reportedly spent $1.6 million backing the measure, according to KCET.
AHF President Michael Weinstein told KCET: "Pornographers should not be exempt from the basic safety rules that protect everyone else. Public health should not be sacrificed on the false claim that this is a free speech issue; this is a public health and safety issue.''
But this morning opponents of the measure hinted that a legal challenge to the law from the San Fernando Valley-based industry may be in the works (see update below). Performers and other industry watchers said they expect production to move outside of the county if the measure is enforced. The morning Twitter was full mostly of laments from Measure B opponents:
now is the time to support any court action and continue to inform the public...
— Bartholet’s PO (@TRPWL) November 7, 2012
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UPDATE: Vivid Entertainment founder and chairman Steven Hirsch told the Los Angeles Times that he plans to fight the measure "to the very end" or else flee the county altogether. Hirsch said his company would abide by any rules enforced by the county—and "enforced" is the key word here, because there is speculation that the county might not be able to do a great job enforcing this law. But if the law does end up being enforced, Hirsch says his company will find a friendlier county to film condom-free porn, which he says is the only kind of porn that most people will bother to watch.
Related:
Only in L.A.: Angelenos Discuss Condoms in Porn on Twitter
Our Porn Stars Get STD's at 'significantly higher' Rate Than Hookers in Nevada
Porn Star Aurora Snow Praises Condoms Measure: "Porn Directors Aren't Looking Out For Me"
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