LOS ANGELES—Some of the best mainstream reporting on the efforts by AIDS Healthcare Foundation and Los Angeles County to stifle the adult industry has been by the Los Angeles Daily News—and now, its Editorial Board has published an editorial urging county officials to really listen to what the industry has been trying to say about the unworkable mandates of Measure B.
"The only real winners since the passage of Measure B have been lawyers and moralists," the editorial declares in its second paragraph, adding that, "Predictably, the measure’s primary effect has been to drive the industry out of the county, which might make those particularly concerned about the moral purity of L.A. County happy, but does absolutely nothing to protect adult film performers overall."
Frankly, we weren't aware that there were very many "moralists" in the county who were vocally opposing the industry, but if one includes folks like AHF president Michael Weinstein in that group—not too much of a stretch since all of AHF's actions toward the industry over the past eight years have had the effect of impelling more and more producers to leave the county—that just makes this editorial that much more insightful.
But the main thrust of the editorial is to take the County Board of Supervisors to task for coming up with that outrageously high "public health permit" fee the County Department of Public Health will be charging adult producers—producers that not only include major studios like Vivid and Wicked, but also smaller independent producers, content traders and even cam performers.
"The requirements have drawn strong condemnation from the adult film industry, with performers and producers telling the board that the fee structure will hurt smaller producers and discourage compliance," the editorial notes. "Additionally, the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association of the adult film industry, argued that the industry wanted to work with the county to make the permitting system more workable for the industry, but was denied the opportunity."
In fact, the county Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer did meet with FSC representatives ... once. And if she heard what they had to say, it certainly wasn't evident at the Board of Supervisors meeting last week.
"Instead, Los Angeles County has adopted a scheme that criminalizes adult production, and provides incentives for those shooting outside the County or in the shadows," FSC said in a public statement reacting to the supervisors' approval of the fees.
And the bottom line, as the Daily News sees it? "Short of repealing the misguided, pointless Measure B, the least the county should do is ensure the measure actually accomplishes its ostensible purpose of keeping producers safe. Working with the industry is the best way to do that."
The full editorial can be read here.
