ELECTION 2016: Porn actors cheer California voters who opposed condom rule



A shared sigh of relief rippled throughout California’s adult film industry Wednesday after voters failed to pass a state proposition that called for all actors engaged in making pornography to wear condoms.

Almost 54 percent of the electorate voted against Proposition 60, which would have made producers prove that condoms were used, pay for performers’ workplace-related medical examinations and vaccines and be licensed by Cal-OSHA, the state’s workplace safety agency, every two years. They would also be subjected to hefty fines.

But adult film performers opposed the initiative and held protests statewide. They said such a law would turn viewers into critics, resulting in lawsuits and harassment. Some actors said they feared that under the law, stalkers would be able seek them out and do harm if their real names were listed in public documents such as lawsuits filed over possible violations of the measure.

“This was a tremendous victory, not only for adult performers, but for science over stigma, and facts over fear,” said Mike Stabile, spokesman for the Free Speech Coalition, a Canoga Park-based trade organization that represents the adult entertainment industry.

The industry has debated the issue of protective prophylactics in porn for five years. The Los Angeles based AIDS Healthcare Foundation says the use of condoms on adult film shoots will improve workplace safety. Actors have called that a fantasy.

“We hope this marks the beginning of a new, safer era for adult film performers and other workers in California — one in which worker voices and lived experiences are included in the legislation and regulation that affects their bodies and their lives,” Stabile said. “Most of all, we thank the millions of Californians who stood up against worker harassment.”

RELATED STORY: Porn actors protest proposed condom law

Although condoms have been required on sets since 1992, the regulations are enforced on a complaint basis to Cal-OSHA. Some production companies do use them, but the still-largely San Fernando Valley-based industry relies on testing performers for sexually transmitted diseases every 15 days as its standard health protocol. Industry workers say there has been no transmission of HIV for many years. Performers also have said condoms are impractical because of the nature of the work.

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Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said the initiative he and his agency supported would have kept performers safe from sexually transmitted diseases.

He said condoms were law before Election Day and will continue to be, despite the loss.

“We put this measure on the ballot because we felt it could have been enforced better and we still feel that way,” Weinstein said. “As far as the bigger picture, I don’t really see a next chapter, at this point, beyond continuing to ask Cal/OSHA and Los Angeles County to enforce the law.”

Proposition 60 contained traces of Measure B, an ordinance passed by Los Angeles County voters in 2012. Measure B mandated the use of condoms on adult film sets county-wide. Health permit fees paid for by producers were intended to finance enforcement. But the measure became mired in a legal battle and wasn’t enforceable.

In California, sexually explicit movies are protected under the Freeman decision of 1988, which made the making of pornographic films legal in California. New Hampshire has a similar law.

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