Courtesy of Huffington Post
Written by Kathleen Miles
Los Angeles County declined Monday to defend the mandate requiring the use of condoms on adult film sets — even though Angelenos voted it into law last November.
Earlier this year, porn producer Vivid Entertainment and two porn performers filed a lawsuit against the county, arguing that the condom mandate infringes on producers’ and performers’ freedom of expression.
Measure B required porn producers to pay for a permit to film and to submit to inspections by the LA County Public Health Department. However, industry insiders say that the new law had not been enforced.
In August, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson ruled that parts of the law — relating, among other things, to how it is enforced — are unconstitutional, but upheld the basic mandate requiring condoms. Vivid Entertainment and the performers appealed the section of the ruling that left the mandate in place.
Instead of defending the mandate on appeal, a private lawyer representing the county wrote Monday in a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit:
Pursuant to Circuit Rule 31-2.3, Defendants-Appellees [county health chief] Jonathan Fielding, [District Attorney] Jackie Lacey, and the County of Los Angeles elect not to file an answering brief in the above-referenced appeal …
The letter was posted by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which authored the mandate that LA voters approved in November. Not surprisingly, the foundation was infuriated by the county’s unwillingness to defend the condom mandate.
“They obviously have a callous disregard to the will of 1.6 million voters,” foundation President Michael Weinstein told HuffPost. “The department is bureaucratic and lazy. They want to do as little as possible.”
The Public Health Department declined to comment because of the ongoing litigation but re-sent an earlier statement to HuffPost, saying it still applies:
Public Health continues to evaluate Judge Pregerson’s ruling that preliminarily enjoined significant portions of Measure B after determining those portions to be unconstitutional. Public Health, however, continues to accept applications for permits under Measure B.
Meanwhile, after three porn performers tested positive for HIV in the past two months, a few performers spoke out in favor of condoms being used on set. Check out the HuffPost Live video above to hear performers discuss the topic.
I’m at a turmoil in life where nothing makes any since to me. You can’t wait to become a grown up so you can make your own life choices, then some one still, will tell you what to do. Who to love, how to love, who not to love, how to spend your money, who to give your money to, as long as you do what they tell you to. Corruption in the government, doctors, medicines, insurance where others make money off you us and call it being fair. But the decision that you make in your personal life are not right for you, we are one step from death everyday by the food we eat, water we drink and the air we breath because of the chemicals man has sold his soul for to make him rich, but we can’t choice to stick our dick up any hole that two consensual adults pleases. The porn industry has some shaking going on it true, but these are choices that grown up made fully knowing that these medical dangers may happen if you have unprotected sex, as any adult. AIDS does not just happen with just sex, and after all this time, why haven’t anyone found a cure for it as in others outbreaks of diseases? I truly hate it that some of the performers got infected, and they made a choice that lead to this, but walking out your front door is scary enough. Teaching fear is worst than finding a cure, keeping people ignorant instead of helping them, or just plain showing compassion for living. We need to start finding solutions and not judgements any more. The Government, medical field, everyone that takes our money his failed us, Now they want to take our choice of how we find pleasure away from us. WTF!
Fuckin’ LOVE the way my buddy Darkhog thinks!
Thanks buddy, our eyes are open to the truth, the last thing that we need is someone to tell us how to fuck, pleasure is the only thing in life we have left.
“Hi. I want to be a porn star. Will you hire me?”
“Sure. You’re cute, you have nice tits. But the hours are long and in our movies your co-star won’t be wearing condoms. Do you still want to be a porn star?”
“Oh yes! I’m OK with the no condom thing and I really, really want to be a porn star.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“You have tested positive for HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS.”
“Oh boo whooo whoo. I had no idea. Boo whooo whoo.”
– – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – –
Give me a fucking break. It’s 2013. Not 1982. In this world, everybody is responsible for the decisions they make. Be that walking out in front of an on coming bus or working in the adult film industry. Don’t want to be exposed to HIV? Go wait tables.
You can’t do that either, you may get e coli! You go to bed at night, the bed bugs may eat your ass, you take medicine the side effects will kill you or cause you to get another ailment, you call the police, you may get shot, Hey so you fuck raw, you’ll get pleasure, get scenario buddy!
Now you’ve done it, Darkhog. Bed bugs creep me the fuck out!