Condoms in Porn Measure Approved for November Ballot

In News by AHF

 

Today, LA County Board of Supervisors voted to approve certification of signatures and to place the measure on November ballot; County Registrar certified ballot petition signatures earlier this month qualifying measure for placement on L.A. County November election  

In late May, safer sex advocates submitted 371,000 signatures supporting a County ballot measure drive that would, “…require producers of adult films to obtain a public health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health…and pay a permit fee…sufficient for necessary enforcement.” 

LOS ANGELES, CA (July 24, 2012) At their regularly scheduled board meeting today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted (3 Yes, 1 No, 1 Abstain) to approve certification of the results of the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s examination of signatures for the “County of Los Angeles Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act” initiative petition that will require adult film producers in Los Angeles County to obtain a public health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health as a condition of doing business in the County. Earlier this month safer sex advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and members of FAIR (‘For Adult Industry Responsibility’) learned that the Registrar-Recorder in the County Clerk’s office certified enough ballot petition signatures to qualify the measure for placement on L.A. County November election. The Board voted today after considering a report by County Counsel and the Director of Public Health on various issues pertaining to the initiative petition.  Yes votes: Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Supervisor Done Knabe, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. No vote: Supervisor Gloria Molina.  Abstain: Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The measure is modeled on LA County’s health permit process for tattoo and massage parlors and bathhouses.  AHF and the initiative’s five named proponents are part of FAIR (For Adult Industry Responsibility), a corresponding campaign to shepherd signature gathering and the entire County ballot initiative process.

“Today is an historic day.  We are extremely pleased that the Board of Supervisors voted to approve the ballot measure, as dictated by the will of the people—including the 371,000 residents of LA County who signed the petition to put the measure on the ballot,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation in a statement from Washington D.C. where he is attending the XIX International AIDS Conference. “We look forward to educating the public about the issues at stake in the enforcement of condoms in adult films made in Los Angeles County, including the protection of workers in an industry centered right in our own backyard. Condoms are the best way to prevent the transmission of sexually-transmitted diseases.  Simply put: no one should contract an incurable disease as a routine part of going to work.”

In a March poll—initiated by AHF and administered by an outside contractor—63% of 1,000 likely Los Angeles County voters polled said they would vote in favor of the measure.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 176,756 individuals in 27 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare

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