BY JAMES MCLAUGHLIN

EL NUEVO SOL

“The last year of my career, 2004, I contracted HIV,” said Darren James, former adult film actor. “I’m coming out right now so I can help out other fellow actors.”

Ballots in California are typically chockablock with voter initiatives, and in the Los Angeles County, voters have had a say in a major regulation affecting a significant backyard industry: pornography. On Nov. 6, voters said “yes” to Measure B.

Measure B will require performers in adult films to use condoms. L.A. County is home to an estimated 80 percent of the adult film business. It is also home to many major adult film production companies, such as, Vivid Entertainment and Xposed Entertainment.

The Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation was the major proponent of Measure B and aided the push for it to be passed. The foundation based itself on public health concerns and the long-term costs for treating AIDS, as primary reasons to vote “yes” on the measure.

A broad coalition of adult entertainment interests heavily opposed Measure B. The coalition claimed that the passing of this policy would violate free speech rights and create a government bureaucracy to regulate the industry. The fear of a large L.A. County job-creating industry’s flight was also among the reasons to oppose the measure.

Tags:  Adult films James McLaughlin LA County Measure B