California votes against banning bareback porn
Californians have rejected a proposition to ban condomless porn being filmed in the state.
As America went to the polls, California was also voting on a number of policy proposals – including a controversial measure submitted by outspoken activist Michael Weinstein of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Known as Proposition 60, the initiative would make condoms mandatory in all pornographic scenes filmed in the state, for both gay and straight scenes, on the grounds that condomless bareback sex promotes ‘risky’ behaviour.
The plans have been strongly opposed by the adult entertainment industry and other sexual health groups, with activists raising fears fears that an outright ban would simply drive the industry underground – and away from the regular sexual health vetting procedures that are already in place.
It is already mandatory for porn actors to undergo regular HIV tests, and due to strict vetting, just one incident of an actor being infected with HIV on a porn set has been recorded in the past decade..
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation claims that the practise of allowing porn actors to have unprotected sex is unsafe, and that porn studios are setting a bad example on condom use, however Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians all came out strongly against the measure.
With 82.3 percent of votes counted, 3,411,983 voters (45.8%) backed the law – while 4,040,256 (54.2%) voted against it.
There was a regional split on the issue, with Los Angeles County – the largest county in the state – narrowly backing a ban, while smaller regional counties were more heavily opposed.
The law would have required the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration to prosecute an enforcement action anytime a condom is not visible in a pornographic film.
The AHF spent more than $4.6 million fighting for the measure, angering some donors. Mr Weinstein has not issued a statement on its defeat.
One proposition that did pass in the state legalised recreational use of marijuana.
