WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (RIA Novosti) Voters in the US county of Los Angeles passed a measure on Election Day requiring pornography actors there to wear condoms on movie sets, but the porn industry says it will ruin their work.
Nearly 56 percent of voters said yes to the measure, which not only makes condom use mandatory but also requires porn movie producers to get permits from the county Health Department to shoot sex scenes.
The permit fee would pay for inspectors to randomly check film sets to make sure condoms are being used, and violators would be subject to fines and criminal misdemeanor charges.
“The idea of allowing a government employee to come and examine our genitalia while we’re on set is atrocious,” adult film actress Amber Lynn told the Pasadena Star News.
Los Angeles city already requires a permit, but now the law expands to 85 other cities in Los Angeles County.
Supporters of the new law say it would help protect porn actors from getting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and prevent those diseases from being passed on to the general public.
HIV is “at epidemic proportions in the industry and it spreads to the community,” said AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein on The Daily Beast website.
“It sends a terrible message that the only type of hot sex is unsafe sex,” he said. “We aren’t trying to make porn illegal.”
Porn industry executives counter that all actors already undergo strict STD testing and the use of condoms would hurt the industry because people don’t want to see condoms in porn.
“A lot of the girls get more work if they choose to not use condoms,” said Los Angeles porn actress Anikka Albrite on The Daily Beast. “I know I am putting myself at risk for disease, but I know we have strict health regulations.”
Legendary porn actor Ron Jeremy was more morose. “This is the final nail in the coffin for Los Angeles filming,” he said. “How can we compete with Europe and amateurs? They don’t use rubbers.”
