LOS ANGELES — The AIDS Healthcare Foundation on Tuesday blasted Los Angeles adult film studios for not complying with Measure B, calling out the top-billed porn companies and Immoral Productions, a DVD producer and streaming site that has become the group's first target.
Last night, the AHF, which sponsored Measure B's passage, said it filed the first complaint under the new Los Angeles County porn-condom law against Immoral Productions because it received an anonymous letter alleging that Immoral Productions was producing condom-less movies.
“Immoral Productions is producing adult-themed content wherein the actors are engaging in vaginal and anal penetrative acts without the use of condoms,” the AHF said in a letter to the county’s Public Health director, Jonathan Fielding.
Today, at a press conference, AHF President Michael Weinstein charged that Immoral Productions is not the only studio that allegedly isn't following Measure B.
"Look at Vivid, Hustler and many other companies," Weinstein said. "They have said publicly they're not going to obey the law and use condoms."
Weinstein said that because the industry has not put its two feet into the measure, "this is something that is coming to a head" because it has "festered over 10 years."
The AHF is urging the county to take action on the Immoral Productions complaint within 30 days.
"We've seen nothing to how [the county is] going to enforce the ordinance," Weinstein said."We are challenging the county to take action."
Weinstein said that he had been paying close attention to the "adult blogosphere" for reaction to the voter-passed county ordinance, and that he hasn't been pleased since most studios are "thumbing their nose" at it.
Immoral Productions, Weinstein said, has been especially egregious with recent condom-less shoots that are outlawed with Measure B.
It was a "willful act by Immoral Productions to apply for a permit knowing they wouldn't comply," he said. "This studio received a provisional health permit and then went on the blogosphere, championing the permit."
According to Weinstein, the AHF received an anonymous letter from a "knowledgeable" person who had "access to the set." "This tip is not someone who was paid," he claimed.
The AHF then reviewed videos on ImmoralLive.com. "We checked it out and we found it as a valid," Weinstein said. "It's not hard to verify [when and where] films were shot. They are streaming all of the time."
The AHF's Mark McGrath, who leads research and policy for the group, said that the first complaint will be a test for county leaders.
"The question is: Will the county fulfill the wishes of voters?" he queried. "There is a law on the book."
Weinstein said that the AHF is hopeful that county officials will take action against Immoral Productions, including fines that they say could reach $1,000 and possibly a six-month jail sentence.
But, he noted, that the county is not required to respond to the complaint.
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