New Bill In California Would Make It Legal To Sue Porn Actors For Not Using Condoms

“All I have to do as a private citizen is see a performer not using a condom in a video, and I get to haul them into court.”
From: NewNowNext

 A new ballot initiative in California has porn actors up in arms: Not only would it mandate condom use in porn movies throughout the state, it would allow citizens to sue producers for making bareback porn.

They might as well hand pitchforks and torches to the villagers.

A similar law passed in 2012 requires protection in films shot in L.A., but the new initiative, which garnered enough signatures to appear on the 2016 ballot, would affect the whole state. It was spearheaded by Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), with the intended goal of “[enabling] whistleblowers and private citizens to enforce the Act when the state fails to do so.”

For their part, porn studios claim routine testing provide enough protection against HIV/AIDS.

“This bill puts performers at the mercy of any citizen, including those who misjudge and scorn the adult film industry,” says porn star Chanel Preston, president of the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee. “Any person or group with an anti-porn agenda, anyone with a personal issue with a specific performer, or an overly zealous fan could use this power as a means to attack performers in the industry.”

Preston says she’s harassed on social media or email “almost every day.”

But it’s not just sex-negative people and moralists who would want to file suit against porn studios—there’s some money to be made. A quarter of any fines levied against a studio would go to the plaintiff, who could even recoup their court fees.

It’s not just faceless porn studios at risk: If you and your buddy have a webcam and aren’t using condoms, you’d be liable.

“All I have to do as a private citizen is see a performer not using a condom in a video, and I get to haul them into court,” the Free Speech Coalition’s Mike Stable told Vocativ. “It opens up the door for stalkers, anti-porn activists, moral zealots and conservative family members to harass performers with legal impunity.”