Condoms In Porn Bill To Be Heard In CA Senate Tomorrow

A big vote is looming in the California State Senate, and those that have been following the case are going to spend the next few days on edge.

According to Edge on the Net (link below), we'll all know the answer to this issue very soon.

Assembly Bill 1576, which would require mandatory condom use on all porn sets, passed the state Assembly on a 48-13 vote May 27. The bill is now in the state Senate, where it’s scheduled to be heard June 25. AB 1576 was authored by Assemblyman Isadore Hall III (D-Los Angeles). A similar bill by Hall did not make it out of the Legislature last year.

The bill was reintroduced in the wake of the HIV scares that swept through the adult industry last year, which seems to stack the deck in favor of the bill being passed. Hall says that this is a worker protection issue more than a slight against the industry as a whole.

"The passage of AB 1576 was a strong reaffirmation of the California Legislature’s commitment to protect workers in the state, regardless of the type of work performed," Hall said in a statement following the Assembly vote. "For too long the adult film industry has thrived on a business model which exploits its workers and puts profit over safety. A minimum level of safety in the workplace should not have to be negotiated."

Opponents of the bill fear that it will lead to prosecution of everyone, not just adult industry professionals.

"What a performer does sexually should be up to the performer, not the government," Tim Valenti, president of San Francisco-based Naked Sword Productions, said in a post on Facebook. "As gay men, we know how important our privacy is, and we know how HIV has been used to whip up fear among gay men. Under the law, even a monogamous gay couple using a webcam from their own home could be prosecuted for not using a condom."

There's even opposition from Kink.com, who saw several performers contract HIV.

"This is about performer choice," Michael Stabile of Kink.com told the B.A.R. "A bottom should absolutely have the right to ask for a condom. In fact, it’s imperative. Everything a performer consents to do with his or her body should be determined by that performer, not by a studio or government. That means partners should talk about their status to make an informed decision, that any performer should be able to request a condom at any time for any reason. That’s why performers are fighting this bill, it removes performers from the equation."

Other supporters of the bill claim counter that it's much more complicated than that.

Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation supports the bill. It was also a major sponsor of the LA condom law. "When I was in my youth I worked in a factory and was doing piecework," AHF President Michael Weinstein said in an email. "I would have preferred not to wear goggles and gloves. I was required to do so by law. People can do whatever they choose in their personal lives but when they are employed and they receive money, they are covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration," he added. "Lastly, very many performers have told me that when they asked to use condoms, they didn’t get work. The primary people testifying on behalf of this legislation are performers."

What are your thoughts on the issue? Do you think it'll get through the Senate? Will it forever change the industry? Let us know in the comments section below.

Via Edge on the Net