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Want a Porn Film Permit? Better Stock up on Condoms
A performer on the set of 'The Sex Files 2: A Dark XXX Parody' (Photo by Koga/LAist)
Local motels may soon see film crews renting rooms by the hour, after a unanimous LA City Council vote on Friday instructed the City Attorney to look into requiring porn actors to wear condoms in order for porn companies to obtain a filming permit. The motion was first introduced in December, when the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, a clinic that serves adult performers, closed down after state officials failed to grant it an appropriate license to continue operating.
The clinic had been accused of mistreating an actor who tested positive for HIV. (Despite the decision of state officials, though, the clinic re-opened last Thursday as a private corporation, under the name AIM Medical Associates P.C.)
Under state and federal law, porn actors are already required to wear "barrier protection" to protect against bodily fluids like semen, but many -- including those filming with industry giants like Vivid Entertainment -- still don't.
The push to link condom usage to film permits is supported by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. In a statement, president Michael Weinstein said that "Tying condom use to adult-film production permits is absolutely the responsible thing to do, protecting adult film industry performers who—under the current system of testing—are routinely asked to risk their lives and health in order to continue working.”
Nevertheless, it's tough to imagine how state departments that are already short-staffed would be able to enforce the new requirement. A representative from California Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) told LA Weekly last year that state officials were already "doing what we can within our resources" to enforce existing condom regulations in porn.
The City Attorney will have 45 days to report back to city council members on his findings.
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