Ethan Explains California Proposition 60

This is number 10 of 17 of the California statewide ballot initiatives in 2016 that I’ll cover. Proposition 60 is the “Adult Films. Condoms. Health Requirements. Initiative Statute.” Also known as the “Condoms in Pornographic Films Initiative.”

Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) rates in California are the highest they’ve been in 25 years, according to the Los Angeles Times. We have a strain of gonorrhea that has become antibiotic resistant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. And while HIV rates are slowiy declining, 1 in 8 people infected have no idea, according to AIDS.gov.

Yet actors in adult films, colloquialy porn, generally don’t wear condoms.

A UCLA study found that 1 in 4 porn actors has had gonorrhea or chlamydia and a study published in the Journal of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association found that porn actors have more STDs than Nevada prostitutes.

Seems like a problem ripe for a solution.

So, a proposition stating that actors must use protection and get tested regularly would be logical. But, Proposition 60 is not that answer.

Here we have an initiative that was likely written or underwritten by some attorneys who are looking to cash in on a massive new set of lawsuits. This thing is written essentially deputizing every Californian to look into the porn industry and report every potential violation. Worse, there is so much money built in to every violation that this thing is a potentially massive windfall for the attorney or attorneys who become the leaders in suing for this new cash industry.

Really, wrangling the STD problem IS a major public health concern that we do need to continue to focus on, but this is not the answer.

I say NO to Proposition 60.

Tune in to The Ethan Bearman Show Monday through Friday, noon to 2 p.m. on KGO 810 – www.kgoradio.com