Sec. 3. Purpose and Intent.
The people of the City of Los Angeles hereby declare their purpose and intent in enacting this ordinance to be to minimize the spread of sexually transmitted infections resulting from the production of adult films in the City of Los Angeles, which have caused a negative impact on public health and the quality of life of citizens living in Los Angeles.
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I’ve had people asking me to voice my thoughts on this, but I couldn’t do it any better than Alex Garner did over at Frontiers LA.

Take a second and read his fine op/ed, and why not poke around Frontiers LA a bit? It’s an excellent site, but I’m basing that soley on Mr. Garner’s work, cause No Way Am I Gay.

Here’s what I (generally) have to say about all this hullabaloo: working in porn is a bad decision.

And now I’ll get more specific: for most people who enter it, working in porn is a bad decision. I don’t care if you’re in front of the camera…or behind it. For the majority of girls who wanna be the next Jena Jameson — or just need a quick couple grand to pay some bills — getting into porn is is a dumb idea. It’s just as bad as the worst tattoo you’ve ever seen — and while it might not stay with you forever, being a “porn star” sure will haunt you for a long time.

Things aren’t as bad for the dudes who are successful in front of the camera (as their sex addiction will attest) and while they still are negative consequences for the (straight) male porn star, they aren’t as severe as they are for women (ain’t society grand?).

Directors (as in yours truly) are least effected…but we still deal with the shit Society At Large tosses our way.

But here’s my take on all this: since when did some people get to assign themselves as The Bad Decision Cops and then mandate their rules?

And if we’re gonna start taking action to limit peoples’ bad choices, imagine the parameters we’d be dealing with. To me, being involved in the adult film industry is as dumb as being in the Timber Industry, or the Structural Iron and Steel Industry, or a Farmer or a Rancher, or any other of the stupid jobs that make up the top ten most dangerous jobs of the last two years.

Being in porn is as stupid as playing football. Have you seen the video of Hall-of-Famer Earl Campbell’s speech at the dedication of the football field they named after him? (Try and guess how old he was when he made that speech, and then Google him to discover the shocking truth).

Nothing in this world can make us 100% safe at the things we do, whether it’s work or play…or having sex.

We can be always be safer, and, in my biz, pissing into a cup and having your blood drawn every 30 days is what I would call the equivalent to wearing a helmet and pads if you play ball for a living, or body armor if you’re a cop, or having the required life saving appliances on your fishing boat.

And finally, all adult entertainment performers — every single one of them — have what we call a “dance card”. Take a look at Super Whore Ava Devine’s dance card: she’s available for Solo, Girl / Girl, Girl / Girl Anal, Boy / Boy / Girl, Anal, Double Penetration, Double Vag, Double Anal, Interracial, and Creampie.

She could easily add “CONDOM ONLY” in big red letters at the top of her page, just like Raquel Devine does. (Oh, and if you’re wondering, they’re not related).

Does Raquel work as much as Ava?

No.

And guess what — that’s another decision Raquel got to make all by herself, just like a big girl.

The Bad Decision Cops’ counter with being tested every 30 days just isn’t enough. Just like wearing all those pads and helmet wasn’t enough for Earl Campbell, I suppose. But he got to make the decision to suit up and play.

One day, a female performer is going to walk on a condom-only set and make a statement, and it’s gonna go something like this: “Hey gang! I’m a big believer in the First Amendment, and today I think I’m gonna use that amendment to secure my freedom of speech as an adult entertainer and perform my scene without a condom.”

She’ll be asked to leave set…and that’s when she’s gonna call her lawyer.

That’s when all the Legal Fun will start all over again, and something tells me when this is taken to a higher court, Porn will Win.

Like it always does.