A group of adult performers, public health advocates, and elected officials plan to join forces today in front of the San Francisco Women's Building in opposition to Proposition 60. The ballot measure, which would require performers to wear condoms in all California shoots, has been criticized by its opponents as both harming public health and potentially promoting harassment by allowing anyone in California to sue individual adult actors if they are seen performing without a condom.
As we reported last November, the measure was pushed by AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein. Weinstein believes the measure, if passed, will positively affect public health by modeling safe-sex behavior to pornography-watching youth. "The No. 1 way that young people learn about sex in this day and age is pornography on the Internet," he told the Associated Press last year.
According to a press release sent out today by the "Stop Prop 60" campaign, however, Weinstein has it all wrong — and a growing number of elected officials agree. “The Department of Public Health reports that implementation of Proposition 60 would further drive the adult entertainment industry underground or to places that offer few protections for adult film workers," Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chief Executive Officer Sachi A. Hamai wrote to her colleagues last month of the statewide measure. "The DPH indicates that this could have the opposite of the desired effect of the ballot initiative, which is to increase the health and safety of adult film workers.”
The proposition has also been opposed by the California Democratic Party and the California Republican Party, and has even brought together Supervisors Jane Kim and Scott Wiener — opponents in a heated State Senate race — in opposition to the measure.
Weinstein is often viewed as a controversial figure, and drew the ire of many in the LGBTQ community after he called the PrEP drug Truvada, which is taken to greatly reduce the chances of contracting HIV, "a party drug." His past attempts to get adult performers to wear safety goggles on set have also not been looked upon kindly by those in the industry.
Adult performers themselves are also very much against the measure, going so far as to launch a social media campaign in an attempt to spread awareness of what they view as a flawed proposal. “I was feeling so defeated and overwhelmed by how much damage Prop. 60 could do to us as a work force and personally that I had to do something,” adult star Julia Ann told SFist of her efforts against the measure.
The protest is scheduled to run from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. today.
Previously: Condoms In Porn Measure Ahead In Polls, But Support Slipping
SF Democrats Urge Party To Oppose Ballot Measure Requiring Condoms In Porn
Measure Mandating Condoms In Porn Approved For November Ballot