A lot of people were fearing the day when the LA condom mandate law would begin to be enforced. That day came yesterday, and it probably won't be the last day, either.
On the eve of what was supposed to be the final meeting of the Los Angeles City Council committee drafted to set the parameters of enforcing the newly passed ordinance, the porn production/cam company Immoral Productions, directed by "PornoDan" Neal, was hit with a unexpected bust by the LA Vice department, and thusly charged with violating the law, which states that all adult prodution within the city of LA must have a valid permit, and must also, in exchange for that permit, mandate that male performers wear condoms in their sex scenes. (There are some exceptions for those shoots with their own sound stages located in site.)
Here is the full accounting from XBiz.com:
LOS ANGELES — Immoral Productions received a citation from the Los Angeles Police Department on Thursday night for filming without a permit, CEO Dan Leal confirmed to XBIZ.Of course, no one knows what the actual citations or punishments for violating the law will be, or whether or not, given the economic depression, LA Vice actually has enough juice to successfully implement or enforce the law.
Leal said that eight officers from the LAPD's Vice Division visited the Immoral Productions studio in Chatsworth, where an independent contractor for Immoral was preparing to shoot an advertising spot with a handful of adult performers. Immoral produces numerous different live cam shows at the studio that are also later packaged for DVD distribution.
Leal was not at the studio Thursday during the visit, but he says he will appear in court on June 7 for the citation. He told XBIZ it was his understanding that he was specifically targeted by the LAPD, and that other webcam shooters should be aware that they also will have to obtain a permit in order to shoot or risk citations.
The LAPD officers were only at the studio for about 15 minutes, Leal said.
And as for that meeting, that took place this morning?? Once again, here's the first scoop from XBiz:
Basically, McGrath wants to put any porn producers and performers not using condoms to be put in jail and/or fined out of business. And, I assume that this includes even those who use cams in their personal homes to produce paid content for their home websites. In effect, use the full powers of the State to force performers to use condoms or simply quit the business.Panel Needs More Time to Craft L.A. Condom Policies
LOS ANGELES — The panel that has been charged with crafting policies to implement Los Angeles' porn-condom ordinance will meet one more time next week.
On Friday, the Adult Film Industry Working Group convened for what was supposed to be the last time before they release findings in a report to City Council over how to enforce Los Angeles City Ordinance No. 181989, called the "Safer Sex in the Adult Industry Act."
But Los Angeles City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana on Friday said the panel needs more time and will meet sometime next week so that they can release findings to City Council at least by May 23, in accordance with a 120-day rule over when ordinances must be enacted after approved by City Council and the mayor.
The porn-condom ordinance was passed by City Council in January while a ballot-initiative effort by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation was in full swing; council members decided for the ordinance after weighing legal and ballot-initiative costs.
The "Safer Sex" ordinance currently isn't being enforced in the city, but later this month the ordinance likely will be put in effect, dramatically changing the wheels of porn production in the region.
At Friday's City Hall meeting, the 11 working group members heard public comments less than three minutes each from Immoral Productions Dan Leal, Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Diane Duke and adult industry attorneys Michael Fattorosi and Alan Gelbard, as well as the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Mark Roy McGrath.
The meeting lasted one half hour.
Leal, whose company was cited just last night by LAPD's vice squad for filming without a permit, told the panel about the bust, and asked how them how they could reasonably create an ordinance that would regulate sex between couples — "even married couples ... how could you regulate that?" he asked.
Fattorosi told the panel that any such ordinance would be "impossible to regulate."
"It will be an insurmountable task to identify the real producers for an industry that is worldwide," he said.
Duke, meanwhile, said that the ordinance is a "different type of censorship" that is filled with constitutional issues.
Gelbard echoed Duke's take on the ordinance, saying the statute is unconstitutional, that it is content-based regulation of speech and will never survive strict scrutiny, a standard of judicial review for a challenged policy where the court presumes the policy to be invalid unless the government can demonstrate a compelling interest to justify the policy.
The delay in crafting the enforcement leg of the ordinance was openly criticized by McGrath, the only AIDS Healthcare Foundation rep in the audience, which numbered about a dozen. McGrath also complained to the panel about creating a "permissive fees" structure for adult entertainment film permits.
Welcome to the "Weinstein-Lubben Model" of neoliberal sexual fascism, people. Scared enough to fight yet??
Michael Fattorosi has been covering this process throughout its genesis, and his @Pornlaw Twitter page is a valuable source for anyone wanting some valuable insight.
Then again, some people are willing to walk the talk. Like, say, Sean Tompkins over at The Real Porn Wikileaks, who issued this bit of warning to the likes of Bill Rosenthal and Mike Weinstein today:
To quote Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, “You’re Fucking With The Wrong Guy.” I couldn’t care less about your publicity raid.You guys are no different than the bullies over at PWL You’re like one of those stupid lizards that puffs up their head to make them seem scary. In reality, you’re a collection of gay people [sic] who despise straight porn, straight sex and the freedoms that go with it.Sadly, you’re dealing with a billion dollar industry that has no idea how to rally the troops. But once they figure it out, AHF and the rest can shove the condoms up their asses.
UPDATE:
More details on how exactly the condom law will be enforced in LA are coming in, and it is getting progressively worse.
Michael Fattorosi has been using his @Pornlaw Twitter livestream to update the adult performer/producer community on the potential impacts of the law, and he has discovered a segment of the law that can only be described as frightening.
The fulcrum of the law is the requrement that anyone producing porn in LA must get a permit from the group FilmLA to shoot porn, or face not only stiff fines, but also potentially a year in jail for shooting without a permit or violating the terms of the permit (including, of course, shooting without using a condom). The local LA Police Vice Squad would probably be the main group responsible for enforcement, but AHF spokesperson Mark McGrath testified at today's hearing that he would suggest that AHF officials from outside be recruited to become vice members as a means of enforcement.
Well, according to Fattorosi, his interpretation of the law is that that proscription would not only cover porn shoots, but also potentially adult camshow productions as well. Meaning, that anyone, even those who upload camshows for their own homegrown websites, could be subjected to being raided by the Condom Nazis (or even just the Vice Squad) for not having the proper pemit to perform.
In effect, this recriminalizes private commercial adult sexual expression and media within the juristiction of the City of Los Angeles (well, at least those not meeting AHF's standards of "condom only").
The only thing missing from this debacle is Hollywood celebs talking up how adult webcamming is part of the Great Sex Trafficking Network...although I'm sure that McGrath and Weinstein already have a press release ready for that.
And now you know why Shelley Lubben was so gung ho in aligning with Mike Weinstein on this. It's never been about protecting porn performers from HIV and other STI's; it's always been about wiping adult commercial sexual media off the face of Los Angeles...and eventually, the rest of the world. And, of course, about getting easy money off porn panics.
I ask you again: Scared enough to fight this, people??
The Free Speech Coalition (@FSCArmy) has just released their review of the hearing; it can be accessed here.
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