If Michael Weinstein gets his way, the controversial firebrand become California?s first porn czar, able to control what adult films can be made or sold in the Golden State. A newly proposed 2016 ballot measure ? crafted by Weinstein himself ? would create a state-subsidized position, whereby Weinstein would be placed in charge of monitoring any adult film produced in California to determine if condoms were used. According to the law, if a condom wasn?t readily apparent in each scene, Weinstein would be deputized by the Attorney General to review the raw footage of the production, and file lawsuits against anyone involved in the production, including but not limited to the producers, distributors agents and anyone with a demonstrable ?financial interest? in the production.
For industry insiders, a ?porn czar? with nearly limitless ability to harass adult businesses, harkens back to the days of censorship boards and vice squads. Diane Duke, head of the Free Speech Coalition, was appalled.
?Weinstein is proposing that taxpayers grant him the power to determine what types of adult film can be made in California, and allow him to use millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to pay himself and his designated team to watch adult films for violations. Weinstein has waged a 10-year personal crusade against the adult industry and now wants tax payers to pay him to control it. I?m speechless.?
According to the Act, adult film producers would need to be licensed by the state. And in the ?Legal Defense? section of the statute, Weinstein designates himself, as the ?proponent of the Act,? as an employee of the state, with similar powers to the Attorney General, and unimpeachable save for a majority vote in both houses of the state legislature. Any expenses he incurred reviewing the films, suing producers or otherwise pursuing directives of this act, would be paid for by the state of California. The text of the measure, written by Weinstein (?the proponent?), states:
?The People of the State of California, by enacting this Act, hereby declare that the proponent of this Act has a direct and personal stake in defending this act from constitutional or statutory challenges to the Act?s validity ? the proponent shall be indemnified by the State of California for only reasonable expenses and other losses incurred by the proponent, an agent, in defending the validity of the challenged Act.?
A ?porn czar? with nearly limitless ability to harass adult businesses, harkens back to the days of censorship boards and vice squads.
This isn?t the first attempt by Weinstein to patrol the adult industry. A related bill last summer, AB1576, was defeated after performers protested the bill in the state legislature. Currently, adult performers in California are tested every fourteen days for a full slate of STIs, including HIV. There has not been a HIV transmission on a regulated adult set in the state since 2004, and many performers complain that shooting with condoms for multiple hours can be painful, and causes abrasions and tears that leave them more vulnerable to STIs off-set.
The Legislative Analysts Office, a neutral body charged with pricing ballot measures, estimates the bill will cause the loss of tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue to the state and thousands of jobs, as well as millions of dollars each year for Weinstein to enforce it. Says Duke:
?For the first time in nearly forty years, we?re looking at the government spending taxpayer dollars to censor adult film. No one man should have the ability to determine what is appropriate for consenting adults to watch. Adult performers have fought too hard for their rights to have a self-appointed porn czar tell them what they can and can?t do. We?ll fight this one to the end.?
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*This article is a Guest Post by Mike Stabile. The views, opinions and positions expressed by Guest Authors and those providing comments on these articles are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Eros Media, Eros.com, Darkside Productions or any employee thereof.
New Ballot Initiative Would Create California ?Porn Czar? - Eros Media