In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne published one of the greatest literary creations in history: “The Scarlet Letter: A Romance.” The novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. She is required to wear a scarlet “A” on her dress when she is in front of townspeople to shame her. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read this literary classic, then I encourage you to visit your nearest library or Amazon.com. As you read “The Scarlet Letter” story for the first time, you’ll be hard-pressed not to consider its similarities to what has been proposed in AB 2389.
In February 2020 and about 170 years after the release of Hawthorne’s novel, California Assembly Members Cristina Garcia and Lorena Gonzalez introduced Assembly Bill 2389 (“AB 2389”). Initially, AB 2389 required any person working “… as an entertainer at an adult entertainment business or as a performer in any adult entertainment video, including, but not limited to, internet web-camming sites …” to pay for and engage in training every three years, to be fingerprinted and obtain a valid business license. Almost immediately after its public release, AB 2389 was promptly attacked by virtually every member of the adult entertainment industry, including performers, writers, producers and lawyers. Mainstream media outlets also aggressively reported on the negative reception AB 2389 received.
This is an attack on freedom of speech and expression and thankfully, if the State of California erroneously decides to pass this disgraceful bill, first amendment attorneys will be lined up to take on this fight.
Shortly after the widespread backlash, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez quickly announced that she would pull her name from the legislation. Also, in light of the public backlash, Assembly Member Cristina Garcia amended AB 2389 to remove the requirements for fingerprinting and obtaining a work license. Regardless of the amendments, AB 2389 still requires any person seeking to work in the adult entertainment business, to obtain a “certificate of training completion issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.” AB 2389 is nothing more than another attempt to force anyone in the State of California seeking to legally engage in the adult entertainment industry to have to be subjected to potential humiliation, embarrassment and unnecessary hurdles while scarifying that person’s first amendment rights. Why not just skip all the tip-toeing and propose a law that requires all adult entertainers to be forced to tattoo a scarlet “A” to their chests?
Since first reading AB 2389 I’d been scratching my head trying to figure out what Assemblywoman Garcia was thinking and so common sense told me that the place to start would be to research what Assemblywoman Garcia was thinking herself. It didn’t take me long to reach the conclusion that Assemblywoman Garcia has little to no understanding of the adult entertainment industry when she released a statement indicating: “My goal is that the training required by AB 2389 will result in a certification process similar to that of other industries. For example, the food service industry requires a food handlers training course, in which workers complete a training course and at the end take a quiz. Upon passing the quiz, they are certified food handlers in this state.” I really can’t think of a worse comparison for Assemblywoman Garcia to have made and I’m not remotely surprised that the former co-sponsor of AB 2389 is running for cover.
I’m going to take this opportunity to be blunt. I don’t really care that Assemblywoman Garcia amended the bill to remove the fingerprinting and licensing requirements. The very fact that anyone would ever think that requiring an adult entertainer to be fingerprinted and licensed prior to working in the adult entertainment industry tells you exactly what Assemblywoman Garcia’s intentions are. One can only conclude that Assemblywoman Garcia wanted to be able to identify, track and regulate adult entertainers. AB 2389’s intent is clear; it is yet another hurdle for a person to clear before they knowingly and willfully work in the adult entertainment industry. This is an attack on freedom of speech and expression and thankfully, if the State of California erroneously decides to pass this disgraceful bill, first amendment attorneys will be lined up to take on this fight.
California residents and adult entertainers shouldn’t be surprised at the State of California once again targeting the adult entertainment industry — 2012 brought Los Angeles’ mandatory testing statute (Measure B) and of course 2016 brought the failed Proposition 60. In terms of long-term planning, my office continues to advise adult entertainers to be prepared to fight for the ability to engage in your chosen trade and it truly is a shame that politicians seemingly want to make adult entertainers feel as unwelcome as possible.
It’s very important to note that at this time, AB 2389 is nothing more than a proposed bill and there is plenty to do by every individual potentially affected by this horrendous proposed law. Comment publicly, work with the various adult industry associations working against AB 2389 and submit letters objecting to the bill to Assemblywoman Garcia and your local assemblyperson.
The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and the Adult Industry Laborers & Artists Association (AILAA) are doing everything they can to try to stop AB 2389, but they continue to need your support. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to become a member of both organizations and follow their suggestions for how and what you can do to help stop AB 2389.
This article does not constitute legal advice and is provided for your information only and should not be relied upon in lieu of consultation with legal advisors in your own jurisdiction. It may not be current as the laws in this area change frequently. Transmission of the information contained in this article is not intended to create, and the receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between sender and receiver.
Corey D. Silverstein is the managing and founding member of Silverstein Legal. His practice focuses on representing all areas of the adult industry and his clientele includes hosting companies, affiliate programs, content producers, processors, designers, developers, operators and more. He is licensed in numerous jurisdictions including Michigan, Arizona, the District of Colombia, Georgia and New York. Contact him at MyAdultAttorney.com, corey@myadultattorney.com and (248) 290-0655.
