L.A. Voters Say Yes to Condoms in Porn

Voters in Los Angeles County had a spicier-than-usual decision to make on Tuesday's ballot. Measure B -- also known as the Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act -- proposes that condoms be used on set by all male pornographic performers. And the measure has passed with a vote of 56 percent to 44 percent.

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Citing growing STD outbreaks within the industry -- including several HIV transmissions -- the measure was created by AIDS Healthcare Foundation with the intentions of protecting the health of adult film performers.

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The measure doesn't just mandate condoms. It requires adult film producers to apply for permits from the L.A. County Department of Public Health before shooting sex scenes and will subject them to random inspections. Violations will result in fines, and, in some cases, criminal misdemeanor charges.

Representatives of the porn industry have been extremely vocal in their opposition to Measure B. James Deen, the crossover porn star who appears opposite Lindsay Lohan in the Bret Easton Ellis-scripted The Canyons, has been campaigning against the measure for months, at one point shooting a satirical video in which he and adult film star Jessica Drake engage in simulated sex wearing helmets. Deen also submitted to a Reddit Q&A session on the topic.

Deen argues that the new law will force production out of the state, costing Californians jobs and tax dollars. In an e-mail sent today to The Huffington Post, Deen says the adult film community is a mistreated minority.

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"We are much like the homosexual, minority or female populations," Deen writes. "We are a community of tax-paying and law-abiding voters who are currently being persecuted. But our opinions do matter, and I hope one day we get respect as these previously stated groups and others have begun to receive."

Email: seth.abramovitch@thr.com

Twitter: @SethAbramovitch