‘Yes on B’ Backers’ Billboard Says: ‘Pornographers Say No on B’

In Advocacy by AHF

In an unusual political campaign advertising twist, backers invoke opponents’ message in new billboards that note pornographers are the primary opponents of the measure, which will require producers of adult films to obtain a public health permit from the County, follow all health and safety laws including condom use and pay a permit fee to cover enforcement of the law.

At the same time, backers of ‘Yes on B’ have secured ballot endorsements for the measure from the L.A. County Medical Association and the California STD Controllers Association while many other health associations have previously expressed support condom use in adult film productions.

LOS ANGELES (October 9) – In an unusual and somewhat bold campaign advertising twist, backers of the ’Yes on B’ campaign for Ballot Measure B, the so-called ‘condoms in porn’ measure in Los Angeles are invoking their opponents’ message in new billboards headlined ‘Pornographers Say No on B,’ which point out that members of the porn industry are the primary opponents of the measure. Ballot Measure B, which is formally known as the County of Los Angeles Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act and which will appear on the November 6th ballot, will require producers of adult films to obtain a public health permit from the County, follow all health and safety laws including condom use and pay a permit fee to cover enforcement of the law, when passed.

“It may seem counterintuitive for the ‘Yes on B’ campaign to post billboards stating our opponents’ position ‘No’ on Ballot Measure B, but we believe that between pornographers who oppose the measure and health associations like the L.A. County Medical Association and the STD Controllers Association that support the measure, Los Angeles County voters will be able to draw the distinction and make a more informed choice when they vote on this issue,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and one of the five named proponents of the ballot initiative. AHF is a major funder of the ballot measure. “Whose opinion or endorsement would you trust: pornographers or medical and health professionals and organizations? We are confident that voters will see through our opponents’ false claims—about free speech infringement, the waste of taxpayers’ money and the industry’s hollow threats to leave California when the measure passes—so much so that we are willing to put their message right up against ours, literally and figuratively.”

The ‘Yes on B’ campaign also has a series of more traditional ‘Vote Yes on B’ billboards posted throughout Los Angeles County. That billboard has a message across the top stating ‘L.A. County Medical Association Supports…” directly above the straightforward ‘Vote Yes on B’ headline.  The ‘Pornographers Say No on B’ billboard has initially been posted in three locations throughout Los Angeles: in Hollywood, on Sunset Blvd. at Van Ness Avenue; in South Los Angeles, on La Cienega and Lennox (at the 405 Fwy); and in the San Fernando Valley—home to the multi-billion dollar porn industry—at Sherman Way east of Coldwater Canyon Blvd.

“Our opponents’ entire campaign against Measure B seems to be based on falsehoods: that enforcement of the condom measure will cost taxpayers money, that condom use in the films infringe upon the free speech rights of the actors and that all the adult film producers will simply leave California when the measure passes,” added AHF’s Weinstein. “None is true.”

Ballot Measure B is being spearheaded by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and members of the advocacy group, FAIR (‘For Adult Industry Responsibility’), after as many as 22 HIV infections believed to be industry-related were reported in several outbreaks in Los Angeles since 2004, and amidst thousands of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occurring annually among adult performers. The ballot measure also comes at a time when an outbreak of syphilis, a highly contagious, but curable STD, is roiling L.A.’s adult film industry and shut down the entire industry for several weeks earlier this summer.

 

Health Associations Supporting Condom Use in Adult Films

The Los Angeles County Medical Association (LACMA) and The California STD Controllers Association (CSTDCA) are two major health groups that specifically endorsed Los Angeles County Ballot Measure B. However, the Executive Board of CSTDCA, and several other groups and associations previously expressed support for condom use in adult films including the American Medical Association, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, American Public Health Association, American Association of STD Controllers, American Public Health Association, the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV and UCLA in calling for improved adult film worker safety and enforcement of condom use requirements in adult films. Backers of Measure B are also now seeking formal endorsements of Measure B from many of these other health organizations.

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About AIDS Healthcare Foundation

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 183,000 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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