You may have heard there’s an election going on today. But while all the attention is on Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, there’s another big vote going on in Los Angeles county at the same time. This particular referendum is likely to decide whether the city will continue to be one of the world’s hubs for pornography production.
Los Angelinos will be voting on something called Measure B, also known as the Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act, which - if passed - will force porn performers to use condoms. What seems like a fairly innocuous motion to laypeople has actually resulted in a fiercely fought war between the industry and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the act’s primary proponent.
The AIDS awareness organization believes the adult industry is rife with sexually transmitted diseases, which not only poses a threat to the larger public, but also adds to the taxpayer burden for health-care costs.
The adult industry, on the other hand, says the organization has been spreading misinformation and that its own self-regulating measures - which include vigourous, regular testing - means performers are already safe and disease-free. The New York Times has a story detailing the industry’s testing efforts that is well worth checking out. Read the rest of this entry »
