Adult film producer Vivid Entertainment and porn stars Logan Pierce and Kayden Kross have asked the U.S. District Court for California’s Central District to invalidate Measure B, a ballot initiative that requires the use of condoms on adult film sets.
Measure B, which was approved by voters in November and took effect Dec. 14, also requires adult film production companies to buy permits from the LA County Health Department, revenues from which will be used to enforce the law.
The measure, backed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), won with 56 percent of the vote in Los Angeles County. But in West Hollywood, where several events were staged last year to demonstrate opposition to it, only 46 percent of voters supported the measure.
In the lawsuit it filed Thursday (Jan. 10), Vivid contends that the measure violates the right of porn companies and performers to freedom of expression and speech, which they say includes performing sex acts without a condom and filming them.
Opponents of Measure B have argued that it will force porn producers to leave Los Angeles County, which already has stringent laws requiring that adult performers be tested for sexually transmitted disease. They will go to less-regulated places, they argue, increasing the likelihood of sexually transmitted diseases among porn actors.
AHF rejects that argument. “Despite what the adult industry’s lawyers are claiming in this lawsuit, Measure B is not directed at speech, and as such, their First Amendment claims will likely ring hollow with the court,” said Tom Myers, public affairs chief and general counsel of AHF. “Measure B is about safety in a commercial endeavor. Nothing in Measure B restricts the content of what can be shown.”
The argument that Measure B will force the adult film industry to flee Los Angeles County also is a subject of dispute. Long Beach and Pasadena have their own health departments and aren’t subject to enforcement of Measure B, which means they may provide more hospitable environments within Los Angeles County for the industry.
