SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled today that the AIDS Healthcare Foundation was wrong to list two groups that had not formally endorsed the controversial adult industry initiative Proposition 60 and that the false endorsements should be stripped from the official voter guide.
Last week, the San Francisco Medical Society and the International Entertainment Adult Union joined a writ filing requesting that their names be removed as supporters. Neither had endorsed Prop 60 but were listed as official supporters by AHF, the sponsor of the measure.
“AHF didn’t get the support they needed, so they padded it with phony endorsements,” said Eric Paul Leue, campaign manager for Californians Against Worker Harassment and executive director of the Free Speech Coalition. “This is straight out of the AHF playbook: misrepresent the facts and keep repeating it until people believe.
“It’s supremely disrespectful to both the union and the doctors at San Francisco Medical, and shows how far they’ll go to defend this ignorant, dangerous measure. We’re glad the court saw through it.”
The court also agreed that performers who produce and distribute their own films, including married couples, can be sued under the regulations if a condom isn’t visible.
Performers have vigorously protested the measure, saying that in the modern adult industry, nearly every performer also qualifies as a producer and distributor.
Prop 60 is opposed by a diverse coalition of workers, public health advocates, performers, as well as both major political parties, including the California Democratic Party, the California Republican Party, the California Libertarian Party, AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, Equality California, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the Transgender Law Center and APAC, known formally as the Adult Performers Advocacy Committee.
“Every day, we hear from people and organizations opposing this initiative. Even those who once considered supporting it in principle, are deserting in droves once they find out that it encourages lawsuits against the performers themselves,” Leue said.
Earlier today, another court gave a tentative ruling over a request to alter Prop 60's language.
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