According to The Huffington Post on Jan. 11, the adult entertainment industry in Los Angeles County is following through on its promise to challenge the new law on condom use in adult films by suing Los Angeles County.
The suit was filed on behalf of Vivid Entertainment and performers Kayden Kross and Logan Pierce. The basis of the lawsuit is that porn companies have the right to freedom of expression and speech, which includes the right to film sex acts without a condom.
The other side of that coin is Measure B, a voter-approved ballot initiative that requires the use of prophylactics in adult films, a violation, the porn companies say, of their first amendment rights.
Measure B was advocated for by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a non-profit organization. Tom Myers, Chief of Public Affairs and General Counsel for the organization, challenges the porn industry’s contention that the law is a violation of their freedom of speech.
“Despite what the adult industry’s lawyers are claiming in this lawsuit, Measure B is not directed at speech, and as such, their First Amendment claims will likely ring hollow with the court,” Myers said in a statement. “Measure B is about safety in a commercial endeavor. Nothing in Measure B restricts the content of what can be shown."
Myers compared a condom for a porn actor to a safety net for a stuntman. He claims it’s the same thing and is strictly a safety issue.
"This is not a free speech issue. This is a workplace safety issue," said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "If they want to digitally remove a condom" from the final cut of a film, "there's no issue."
The CDC web site gives information on the effectiveness of latex condoms in preventing AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases.
“Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective in preventing the sexual transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In addition, consistent and correct use of latex condoms reduces the risk of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including diseases transmitted by genital secretions, and to a lesser degree, genital ulcer diseases. Condom use may reduce the risk for genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and HPV-associated diseases, e.g., genital warts and cervical cancer.”
The lead attorney on the case for the porn company, Paul Cambria Jr., says that Measure B infringes upon how directors can make films.
"Let's assume that we're filming an adult movie and it was taking place in the swashbuckler times. All of a sudden, Captain Jack slips on a condom. Obviously, that would basically destroy the movie, because it would be fake. Obviously, people would know that couldn't have happened then," Cambria said.
SOURCE: latimes.com
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