On Tuesday, January 10th, of this New Year, the Los Angeles City Council voted 11-1 to pass a new City Ordinance that would require the provision of, and use of, Condoms on the set during the production of all Adult Movies made in the City. A second vote is required before the Ordinance would take effect, however.
This is actually quite a significant gesture. Since about 90% of all commercially distributed Adult Movies made in the United States are made in the San Fernando Valley, (sometimes known as the "Porn Valley"), this Ordinance will deeply affect the Porn Industry as a whole. The Industry already engages in mandatory HIV Testing for all its Actors and Actresses, but the City is acting to prevent a proposed Ballot Initiative by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation from being voted into Law in the next Election.
What is interesting is that, for an industry which routinely sells materials including unprotected sex, and brags about "Creampies," "Oral," "Anal," and other gimmicky names of the transmission of bodily fluids, there is a relatively low rate of transmission of STD's. There are complaints that Porn Producers routinely violate the Rights of Adults acting in their Movies, and independent groups investigating the issue generally agree that these Producers are not the most responsible group of people in the World.
However, what concerns people like myself, in this time of Regulation Phobic Government, and a Healthcare Mandate Phobic Population, is that an industry that engages in Morally Taboo but perfectly legal activities is being targeted for regulation. While I am completely in favor of Actors and Actresses in the Adult Industry being encouraged to use Condoms in their professional activities, does the City of Los Angeles really need to tell consenting Adults what they can and cannot do Sexually? Will this Ordinance apply to small scale Husband and Wife Producers as well?
I can imagine that the torches are already being lit, and the Bibles are being procured from the shelves here. But, when the Federal Government, Cities, States, and Counties seem to take issue with preventing Banks from foreclosing on Homes they don't even own, corporations pumping toxic waste into the Ground Water to get Natural Gas and Oil, and our Military is dropping bombs on counties whose leaders we don't like, is telling the Adult Film Industry to use Condoms really in line with our "National Values"? We don't regulate the worst offenders in our Society, why are we so anxious to regulate an Industry whose products people obvious want? Someone is buying Porn, or it would not be made.
So why is there a push to stamp out the Global Pandemic of STD's being transmitted by Adult Film Stars having unprotected Sex to the innocent citizens of the United States? Well, it could be that it is part of a greater agenda to push our core values as a society ever more towards the Conservative end of the Political Spectrum. Aside from Ron Paul, all the members Rogue's Gallery of Candidates in the Republican Party who are running for President have declared their religious beliefs as part of their agendas. Since they all are Conservative Christians, (I include Catholics and Mormons among the Conservative Christians - sorry you Born Again people who think differently - actually, I don't care what you think), it would seem likely that they would support any regulation that would tend to impeded the production of sinful Adult Movies.
Will this move create more Jobs in Los Angeles, or protect our poor children from Poverty? Probably not. Does it actually decrease the likelihood that a Resident of the City Los Angeles will contract HIV? While it may actually prevent the transmission of STD's on the sets of Adult Movies, it should be noted that there has been no reported cases of Adult Industry related HIV in five years. How many people in the Political Industry have possibly transmitted HIV to others during that same period?
And, what kind of precedent does this set for those who create Laws? Unprotected Sex is not illegal. Adult Film production is not illegal. However, this Ordinance would make Unprotected Sex illegal for those who wish to profit from it in a legal manner. Is the Porn Industry a form of legalized Prostitution anyways? Technically, it is. The fact that a third party, in the form of a Producer, is paying for the Sex to take place does not change the fact that two or more individuals are being paid to have Sex. That is actually the Definition of Prostitution. Someone approves of it, or no Adult Industry products would sell.
So, how long will it be before unmarried people, who wish to have Sex after dates are required to wear Condoms? Does that seem like a huge jump to you? Well consider this, it is currently legal for you to agree to pay for Dinner, an expensive Concert or Play, and some other "Gift," with the full knowledge that Sexual Intercourse is the reward at the end of the expenditures. However, if you agree on specific amounts and items in advance of having Sex under those conditions, it is considered to legally be Prostitution. Think I'm spouting fiction here? Look it up, or ask a legal expert.
So, that being the case, what is to stop a City, in a supposed effort to prevent Crime and Disease associated with Prostitution, from passing Regulations that prohibit Sex between unmarried Adults where one party pays for the other's evenings' entertainment, or gives the party a "Gift"? Well, it could legally be done in much the same manner as the Ordinance that Los Angeles City is passing on the use of Condoms on the sets of Adult Movies. Would it pass Constitutional muster? Who knows? It is something to think about after the knee-jerk "Atta-boy" that might otherwise ooze from our mouths.
Is it important for Adult Film Producers to encourage Actors and Actresses to use Protection on the set? Yes. That is always best. But, when the possibility exists that Husband-Wife small scale productions could be impacted by such rules, is it really okay that they should be forced to change their sexual behaviors by a City Government? Do Adult Film Producers abuse Actors and Actresses by forcing them to have unprotected Sex on the Set? Numerous reports indicate that they do. Will this Law likely stop such Producers from forcing their Actors and Actresses to have unprotected Sex in their movies? Probably not. They probably will not even move production outside of the Porn Valley. They will likely make their movies, and just distribute them through more discreet channels, where fewer eyes are on them. This Ordinance is an interesting push to regulate something that affects very few people's lives currently. However, the potential for even more intrusive and restrictive Laws is cleverly hidden behind it. It is not a good idea.
Jeffrey
No comments:
Post a Comment