Dangerous Ballot Measure Looks to Put Porn Out of Business in California

The 2016 political season produced it’s fair share of perplexing moments, including this head-scratcher out of California. There is a measure that will appear on ballots in California in November called Proposition 60 that, if voted into law, will allow the public to sue adult film performers who don't use condoms. While it's hard to take a measure like this seriously, it really will be up for popular vote in California in November.

On its face, the ballot appears to require performers in adult films to use condoms to ostensibly prevent the spread of HIV. However, the bill actually says that any member of the general public who is watching an adult film and doesn’t see a condom can not only sue individual performers but also receive a portion of any fine imposed on them.

Under the guise of HIV prevention, this misleading and wrong-headed proposition is actually part of a long-term campaign by a conservative group to ostracize and ultimately drive the porn industry out of California. For fairly obvious reasons, there is a long list of state and national organizations that oppose this proposition, including the California Democratic and Republican parties.

In this Advocate commentary, Suing Porn Stars Will Not Lead to Less HIV, Eric Paul Leue of the Free Speech Coalition outlines why Prop. 60 is wrongheaded and dangerous: http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/8/17/suing-porn-stars-will-not-lead-less-hiv