CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2013 OR THEREAFTER
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2013 OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“PORN STAR CASE PUTS NEW FOCUS ON CONDOM LAW”
No one knows for sure just how things
will go, but a new law passed last year in California’s largest county to force
condom use in pornography films and videos will at least be tested this fall.
It’s
about time, too, as evidenced by the late August revelation from adult film
actress Cameron Bay (the stage name of a 28-year-old woman) that she’s tested
positive for the AIDS virus less than a month after her last previous, negative
test finding.
The Los Angeles County law mandates
protection in all forms of sex except manual and oral – something the industry
strongly maintained would make its films less attractive and drive much of its
$13 billion gross revenue out of California. (That figure compares with about
$22 billion for conventional movie-making in this state, and $37 billion for
agriculture.)
So far, there has been no significant
exodus and there's now a strong possibility the law will be taken statewide.
The San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles remains the world capital for
adult filmmaking, with some shoots in nearby areas and counties.
Any shifts were in abeyance until late
this summer, awaiting a decision from U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson on a
lawsuit by porn producers which claimed the law infringes on constitutionally
protected free speech.
Nope, Pregerson finally ruled. The new
law, he said, would prevent health risks and “alleviate those harms in a direct
and material way.”
How great were the risks behind the
law, which passed as Measure B? No one can pinpoint just how much higher than
normal the rates of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are among porn
actors, but porn star Jenna Jameson last year called the business a “ticking
time bomb.” It certainly was for “Cameron Bay.”
It’s still uncertain that Pregerson’s
ruling will let Measure B have the full intended effect. While he allowed the
basic law to stand, he tinkered with parts of it – maybe enough to let
pornographic filming go essentially unchanged.
Yes, the judge allowed mandatory AIDS
testing of porn actors to stand. He said the county can charge producers for
health permits, obtain warrants to inspect production sites and levy fines and
criminal charges against violators
But at the same time, the ruling says
health permits cannot be required as a condition of making a film, nor can the
county revoke permits or stop filming because of violations. And officials
cannot inspect a film site merely because they suspect condoms are not being
used.
So the decision can be seen as a
big wink at porn producers. If they establish an informal code of secrecy,
sheriff’s deputies or other enforcement personnel won’t often be able to come
on site. To get a warrant, they would need more than mere suspicion or
innuendo.
Chances are, the ruling means most
producers will only use AIDS-tested actors, not much of a change. But there’s
almost always some time between any test and the next time an actor performs in
a porn scene. The Bay case demonstrates that participants can acquire diseases
during those interims.
What’s more, even if large producers
either get health permits or move to nearby counties, small producers whose
presence is not very noticeable outside the swank homes where many porn shoots
occur may not bother, figuring that as long as all participants are discreet
and refrain from whistle-blowing, they won’t get in trouble. Under the radar
operations will probably stay that way.
Even with those obvious loopholes in
the law, the porn industry will appeal the ruling, maintaining it still
limits free speech rights, another way of saying the law could crimp
production and profits.
No one knows what comes next: Will
production move out of Los Angeles County, as porn star James Deen predicted
immediately after the law passed? Will there be at least some compliance? Might
that lessen the popularity of online and DVD porn movies?
There’s a good chance there may now be
at least some reduction of AIDS cases in Los Angeles County. And since the
basics of the law have been upheld, some legislators want to adopt a
similar one for the whole state.
Stay
tuned.
-30-
Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough:
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
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