CANOGA PARK, Calif.—Free Speech Coalition has released the following statement regarding the settlement of the lawsuit between Vivid Entertainment, LLC and Los Angeles County, with AIDS Healthcare Foundation as an Intervenor:
The Free Speech Coalition would like to thank Vivid Entertainment for standing up for the rights of performers and filmmakers in their battle over Measure B, and commend them on the landmark settlement reached today, which renders the law unenforceable.
When Measure B was passed in 2012, LA County declined to enforce the Measure. The Measure, which effectively banned adult film production without condoms, was widely opposed by performers, doctors, activists, legislators and public health officials. When LA County declined to defend the misguided measure, the proponents, led by controversial anti-porn activist Michael Weinstein, sued. Multiple lawsuits followed, including one by Vivid.
Today’s settlement will effectively prevent enforcement of Measure B. Weinstein is blocked from harassing LA County with further lawsuits related to the Measure, which still has no mechanism for enforcement. While AHF has attempted to spin this as a win, they’ve wasted millions on an unenforceable measure that has accomplished nothing.
Their saber-rattling has had one effect, however: the loss of a once-vibrant industry. In the years since the Measure was passed, the adult film industry in the San Fernando Valley has been shuttered, taking with it much-needed jobs and tax-dollars. In order to protect workers from Weinstein’s threats, much of the industry moved to neighboring counties, as well as new production hubs in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami. From 2012 to 2013, permits from adult film productions dropped an astounding 95% in Los Angeles, costing the city hundreds of thousands in lost revenue from fees alone.
Michael Weinstein has wasted millions of his non-profit’s resources on the Measure B campaign and litigation, and now continues his moral crusade with a more invasive statewide initiative. According to the state budget office, the so-called Weinstein Initiative will cost the state tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue alone. Worse, it will allow private citizens, including Weinstein, to sue and harass performers who choose not to wear condoms. Like Measure B, it is poorly worded and unenforceable. The difference is that this time taxpayers will be expected to pick up the tab for Michael Weinstein’s crusade against adult film performers.
