L.A. VOTES TO BAN BAREBACKING IN ADULT FILMS

Los Angeles, the adult film capital of the U.S., is a step closer to barring the filming of sex scenes without the use of condoms.

On Tuesday the Los Angeles City Council voted 9-1 to approve the new law.

The controversial measure follows a number of health scares among actors in the city’s adult film industry.

In the past decade, porn shoots have been suspended several times following high-profile cases where porn performers have been infected with HIV.

Some studios have reacted with anger and threatened to leave Los Angeles if the law is approved by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The vote marks a significant victory for the L.A.-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has been rallying for years to protect the health of porn performers by asking agencies in California to mandate condom use during film shoots.

“It’s a great day for the performers and safer sex in our society,” said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “This is the first legislative body to take up the issue and the near-unanimous support is very gratifying.”

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC), a lobby group for the pornography and adult entertainment industry, criticised the Council’s move. “Clearly this is about the government overreaching and intruding into consenting adults’ decisions,” Diane Duke of FSC told the New York Times.

“Our standards and protocols are extremely effective and are working. They are taking something they know nothing about and imposing their morality on our industry,” she said.

In 2010, adult film performer, Derrick Burts, who contracted HIV while appearing in gay and straight porn called for the mandatory use of condoms in the industry.