As we probably all know by now, the city of Los Angeles passed an ordinance earlier this year requiring condoms to be used in all porn shot with a filming permit. This week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a ballot initiative asking voters to decide whether or not porn stars will be required to wear condoms. Taking place in November, it looks like the condom debate may come down to Joe Blow voter.
The initiative made its way onto the ballot in great part due to the work of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation which gathered over 370,000 signatures in their support. However, the debate is not yet over. The Free Speech Coalition has been speaking on behalf of many in the Los Angeles porn industry.
Some of the issues that have come up in the debate include the possibility that Los Angeles County may not even be able to afford enforcing such a law. Also, the justification for the law’s existence has caused quite a bit of contention. Some of the justification has been that the porn industry, by not using condoms, is setting a bad example for society.
However, Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, has been countering this idea by asking, “When’s the last time you saw Brad Pitt stop in the middle of a love scene and put on a condom?” In fact, she theorizes that asking such measures of porn films could come to affect the Hollywood film industry which is notoriously lax on showing condom usage in its films. Porn industry supporters have also been pointing to the effectiveness of the already in-place testing requirements for porn performers at preventing sexually transmitted infections.
While this debate is definitely not yet over, it seems like the implications of enforcing such a law are farther-reaching than even its proponents currently believe.
Tags: Condoms, Los Angeles, porn production