L.A. City Council Passes Buck on Forcing Condoms on Porn Shoots
The Los Angeles City Council should adopt the motto "the buck does not stop here," because this week they passed off the condoms-in-porn issue as if it were a soggy, used-up roach.
Sasha Grey did not use condoms.
After much talk and even a City Attorney's report that said the city could, if it wanted to, force condoms on porn sets as a condition for permits, the City Council voted 10-0 to ask for state legislation that would "empower" L.A. to require Jimmy hats.
That according to the Daily News. Can you say cop out?
It's a wuss move on a couple levels, too. Besides the fact that the city already has the ability to enforce condom use, as per the City Attorney (although the issue there was that it doesn't really have the resources), the state already is empowered to enforce Jim Hats and, in fact, does.
So, in essence, the City Council is saying, while we could do this, we want the state to "empower" us to do what we can already do and what it has already empowered itself to do.
Sort of.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been trying to force condoms on the porn industry for nearly two years now. As such it has lobbied the council to take a stand and make condom use a stipulation in granting filming permits to adult producers.
The issue is enforcement. The LAPD doesn't have enough cops to visit porn sets, and the state already does this, but on a very limited basis.
State workplace health officials say that under their interpretation of state and federal law, condoms are already required. They just don't have the manpower to enforce the rule.
AHF lawyer Brian Chase is quoted as saying:
If it was required in the permits issued by the city, it would go a long way in preventing sexually transmitted diseases.
Nice try, AHF, but it looks the council covered its ass with you while essentially doing nothing.
The industry, meanwhile, should be happy about this. It says forcing condoms on-set would force the industry out of L.A. and California and to underground shoots, where things would be less safe.
Porn producers say the public won't buy condom porn.
[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]
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