Judges rule law approved by 57% of LA County Voters does not violate First Amendment Rights
LOS ANGELES (December 15, 2014) – AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest AIDS organization, applauded today’s decision by the U.S. Ninth District Court of Appeals to uphold Measure B, the law approved by 57% of Los Angeles County voters that requires actors in pornographic films to wear condoms.
“Today’s ruling is a total vindication of AHF’s position,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “We call on Los Angeles County for full enforcement of this law now. As the lower court said, they need to set fees based on actual cost. The porn industry has considered every option but following the law. Now it’s time to do what fifty-seven percent of Los Angeles County voters have asked of the industry—and what the courts have upheld as constitutional.”
Measure B is the Los Angeles “condoms in porn” measure voted into law November 2012, requiring condoms to be used on all adult film sets in Los Angeles County. On January 10, 2013, the adult film industry sued to block implementation of Measure B the County of Los Angeles Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act, which Los Angeles County voters passed with an overwhelming margin of voter support—57% to 43%—in the November election.
“Should Vivid Entertainment and other porn producers decide to appeal the decision and bring their misguided case before the U.S. Supreme Court, we welcome the challenge for the courts to rule once again in favor of worker safety and show how the porn industry cares more about their bottom line than their workers,” continued Weinstein.
In considering the case, the three-judge panel stated that the court considered a 2009 letter from the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health “to support the conclusion that Measure B, passed in 2012, was designed to address the spread of disease and is narrowly tailored to that end.”
The lawsuit—Case No. CV-13-00190 DDP (AGI)—was filed with Steve Hirsch’s Vivid Entertainment and California Productions as lead plaintiffs, and named County of Los Angeles, Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and County District Attorney Jackie Lacey as Defendants and seeks to block the law primarily on First Amendment challenges.
When considering legal challenges, California law directs courts to first consider severability clauses in legislation that allow for unconstitutional parts of a measure to be struck while maintaining the valid portions. In today’s court opinion, the panel looked to Measure B’s Section 8 and declared “clearly that the people, acting in their legislative capacity, intended any provision and any part of a provision, if invalid or unconstitutional, to be severed from the ordinance. The district court thus properly held that Measure B’s severability clause establishes a presumption of severability.” Furthermore, the court found that the ordinance does not violate constitutional rights of expression and concluded “Measure B is a minimal restriction on Plaintiffs’ expression that ‘leaves ample capacity to convey [Plaintiffs’] erotic message.’ ”
To read the ruling in its entirety, please visit: https://www.aidshealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Condoms-In-Porn-12-15-District-Appeals-Decision.pdf
MEDIA AVAILABILITY – MICHAEL WEINSTEIN, AHF PRESIDENT & LEGAL TEAM:
Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF
+1.323.308.1833 work +1.323.791.5526 mobile [email protected]
Christopher Johnson, Associate Director of Communications, AHF
+1.323.960.4846 work +1.310.886.9913 mobile [email protected]
