Los Angeles forces porn actors to wear condoms

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed into law Tuesday an ordinance requiring porn actors to use condoms, a measure welcomed by AIDS campaigners.

City lawmakers voted in favor of the law earlier this month, in the latest move in a battle between AIDS activists and the California-based US adult film industry.

The measure notably forces film production companies pay a fee for a film permit to finance inspections.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has long campaigned for condom use on porn sets, collected enough signatures to force LA city fathers either to pass the ordinance, or organize a costly public vote.

AHF President Michael Weinstein hailed Villaraigosa's final step to enforce the law, calling it "a great day for Los Angeles, a great day for the performers and a great day for safer sex."

"After you take all the shouting and the drama out of it, it's an issue of public health," he said, adding that he did not know of any other US city with a similar ordinance.

But Nina Hartley, a registered nurse and porn actress since 1984, blasted the ordinance.

She said adult film shoots require sexual intercourse that lasts 30-60 minutes, and that wearing a condom for that long would lead to chafing, open sores and a greater risk of transmitting diseases.

"It's a disaster for health and safety. I know it looks different from the outside, but it will not work to protect anybody," she said after city lawmakers voted in favor of it.

California porn film makers were forced to suspend production temporarily last year after an actor tested positive for HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, in the latest such disruption to the multi-billion-dollar industry.

Film L.A. Inc., which issues permits for film companies shooting in the West Coast city, said about five percent of the 45,500 permit days the agency issues per year are for porn shoots.

Photo credit: Thomas Pintaric