LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KTLA) -- A new city ordinance requiring porn actors to wear condoms during filming took effect on Monday and officials in neighboring communities say they don't want the porn industry to relocate to to their cities.
Nearby Simi Valley doesn't have a law mandating condoms for porn actors. But that's because the city doesn't have a porn industry there and that's the way city officials want to keep it.
"They say (porn will) bring a lot of revenue but this is a family-oriented town," said Mayor Bob Huber. "I've been here 43 years and we don't want this kind of revenue in our town."
The Los Angeles City Council approved the condom mandate Jan. 17. without debate in a 9-to1 vote.
It requires that all adult film actors wear condoms when filming within city limits.
The City Council is still ironing out some details of the law's implementation.
The ordinance allows police to conduct spot checks on any set once a film permit is issued.
State law already requires porn actors to wear condoms, but safe-sex advocates contend the law is seldom enforced.
AIDS activists are now pushing for a ballot measure to extend the ban to all of Los Angeles County.
They say they want to protect performers' health.
"There are thousands of STDs in this industry," said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, adding that jurisdictions pass the issue around like a hot potato.
Weinstein compared the measure to other public health laws that the city enforces, like those regulating massage parlors and smoking in public.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has issued over $125,000 in fines against porn producers in the past five years for various violations, but some of those citations are on appeal, according to figures from the agency.
But the adult film industry says it has monthly testing that safeguards actors.
"History has shown us that regulating sexual behavior between consenting adults does not work," said Diane Duke, executive director of Free Speech Coalition, the trade association for the adult entertainment industry.
"The proposed regulation would likely diminish existing protocols and force adult companies out of the city, out of state or underground, making it ultimately much less safe for performers," she said.
Nearby Simi Valley doesn't have a law mandating condoms for porn actors. But that's because the city doesn't have a porn industry there and that's the way city officials want to keep it.
The Los Angeles City Council approved the condom mandate Jan. 17. without debate in a 9-to1 vote.
It requires that all adult film actors wear condoms when filming within city limits.
The City Council is still ironing out some details of the law's implementation.
The ordinance allows police to conduct spot checks on any set once a film permit is issued.
State law already requires porn actors to wear condoms, but safe-sex advocates contend the law is seldom enforced.
AIDS activists are now pushing for a ballot measure to extend the ban to all of Los Angeles County.
They say they want to protect performers' health.
"There are thousands of STDs in this industry," said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, adding that jurisdictions pass the issue around like a hot potato.
Weinstein compared the measure to other public health laws that the city enforces, like those regulating massage parlors and smoking in public.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has issued over $125,000 in fines against porn producers in the past five years for various violations, but some of those citations are on appeal, according to figures from the agency.
But the adult film industry says it has monthly testing that safeguards actors.
"History has shown us that regulating sexual behavior between consenting adults does not work," said Diane Duke, executive director of Free Speech Coalition, the trade association for the adult entertainment industry.
"The proposed regulation would likely diminish existing protocols and force adult companies out of the city, out of state or underground, making it ultimately much less safe for performers," she said.
