LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles Times editorial cartoonist Ted Rall took a satiric swipe at Measure B yesterday with a cartoon that implies the AIDS Healthcare Foundation-backed proposition—which, if passed, would subject adult producers to civil fines and/or criminal misdemeanor charges for failing to use condoms on porn sets or violating any part of the ordinance—is a slippery slope that will lead to increasingly ridiculous government oversight.
Titled "Safe sex, and safe sets, for California's porn industry," the cartoon depicts a porn set during a lull in the action, with the header, "Measure B, the 'safer sex' initiative on the November ballot, would require porn actors to wear condoms on adult film sets in Los Angeles County. Soon, look for more laws legislating responsible behavior in porn."
Two performers and a crew member holding a video camera listen to what is presumably a health inspector, who reads from a clipboard: "A brazen violation of the Back Support Act," he says. "Do you know how much pain can be caused by a lumpy mattress?! I can't believe you'd plug multiple devices into an ungrounded 110-volt adaptor. Hey, is that whole milk in that coffee?"
The Times editorial department has yet to officially weigh in on Measure B as it does on all races, propositions and measures on the November ballot. The paper's Endorsements page, which already contains a few yays and nays, is here.
A Los Angeles County-prepared summary of Measure B is available here.
A Ballotpedia page for measure B can be found here.
Impartial analysis of Measure B by County Counsel John F, Krattli is here.
