CYBERSPACE—Tucker Carlson's conservative-leaning online publication The Daily Caller has published an opinion piece by Alexandre Padilla, Associate Professor of Economics at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, that argues against passage of Measure B, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation-backed ballot initiative that contains criminal sanctions against adult producers in violation of the ordinance, which, among other things, mandates the use of condoms by adult performers.
Padilla argues that the new law would actually put performers at greater risk than the current regimen of industry regulated testing. Referring to the recent syphilis outbreak and temporary cessation of shooting, he writes, "Though the idea of self-regulation has been in disrepute in recent years, the adult film industry has done a remarkably good job at it. This is the only known syphilis outbreak since the industry adopted a mandatory testing policy in 1998, and my research shows that this testing policy has encouraged adult film performers to be more careful in their private lives."
Padilla also proffers the argument that self-regulation makes more financial sense for the industry, and questions the ultimate safety provided by a condom-focused future. "Proponents of an industry-wide condom regulation argue that the policy would reduce the number of outbreaks because it would reduce the risk that an infected performer would infect his or her co-worker," he writes. "Yet condoms are not 100 percent infection proof, and a series of quirks in state and federal law would create a situation where there would be more protected workers but also more infected workers."
Unintended legal implications could also complicate current employer/employee relations, he says, arguing that while "employment law currently prohibits a business from discriminating against people based on HIV status," there is a caveat in the law that allows producers to "deny employment to an HIV-positive applicant if the risks of transmission in the chosen line of work are high. This is why adult film producers can legally deny employment to people who test positive for HIV or any STDs.
"An industry-specific condom regulation would upend that system," he continues, arguing that because "condoms significantly reduce the risk of disease transmission, it would be illegal for producers to deny employment to performers who test positive for HIV or STDs. Many performers who are HIV negative would ask for higher salaries to work with potentially infected co-workers; others would quit the industry altogether."
For studios, therefore, Padilla believes a condom-mandatory environment presents two realistic choices only. "Either adult film producers will move outside of California (where the industry is currently based), or they’ll remain in California but do business off-the-books. Neither scenario is desirable."
This is not the first time Padilla has written against plans to mandate the use of condoms by adult performers. In 2009, he penned a column on the subject for Forbes.com, and in 2008 he authored a paper titled, "Self-Regulation in the Adult Film Industry: Why Are HIV Outbreaks the Exception and Not the Norm?"
