LOS ANGELES — The Free Speech Coalition announced that the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) has voted to formally oppose a statewide ballot measure that would allow private citizens to sue adult performers if a condom is not visible in an adult film.
The initiative is slated to cost the city of Los Angeles tens or possibly hundreds of millions of dollars annually in lost revenue, much of it from the San Fernando Valley, which is the traditional home of the adult industry. Stuart Waldman, President of VICA , says the measure would have a large and negative effect on the Valley.
“The ballot measure would not only push hundreds of small businesses out-of-state, it would have ripple effect on the thousands of businesses that currently depend on the adult industry — caterers, cleaners, accountants, drivers, camera operators, carpenters, set designers, grips and editors, to name just a few," he said. "No matter what the type of film, we need to stop runaway production and keep these jobs in California.”
A similar 2012 Los Angeles ballot initiative targeting adult industry resulted in a 95 percent drop in film permits over the course of the year as production moved to Ventura, Orange County and Las Vegas. It was ultimately ruled unenforceable.
“No other worker in any other industry faces this type of harassment,” said Eric Paul Leue, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition and campaign manager for the Californians Against Worker Harassment PAC, a committee opposing the measure. “This ballot measure would not only push California businesses out of state, it would create a dangerous precedent for California workers in other industries.”
The initiative has been widely opposed by performers, producers and public health advocates as counter-productive to performer safety and encouraging the harassment of workers, including the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee (APAC), AIDS Project Los Angles (APLA), the LA Commission on HIV, the California Republican Party and the San Francisco Democrats.
VICA's formal letter of opposition can be found here.
