FSC: Five Leading California Papers Oppose Prop 60, the Adult Film Initiative

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 15, 2016 -- The Free Speech Coalition is proud to announce that the editorial boards of five of California’s largest papers — the Sacramento Bee, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the East Bay Times (formerly the Oakland Tribune and the Contra Costa Times) and the Fresno Bee have all announced editorial opposition to Proposition 60, an initiative that would allow private citizens to sue adult performers.

“These editorials echo what performers have been saying since this noxious measure was introduced,” says Eric Paul Leue, Executive Director of the Free Speech Coalition. “Prop 60 endangers adult industry workers by placing a cash bounty on their heads, and makes their work less safe. Under Prop 60, any resident of the state could file a suit against an adult performer if a condom is not immediately visible, and receive a cash payout. Michael Weinstein is exploiting adult industry workers in the name of a dangerous moral crusade.”

The Sacramento Bee says Proposition 60 could create “an all-out war, in the courts and by the state, ... which could just drive performers further underground and make them less safe.”

The San Francisco Chronicle says Proposition 60’s condom requirement “doesn’t make sense” and “invites legal bounty hunting. Also performers, who often use screen names, could have their identities and addresses made public, a feature that invades privacy and could lead to harm from porn-addled stalkers.”

The San Diego Union Tribune calls Prop 60 “excessive,” noting that the measure “is facing broad opposition, including the state Democratic and Republican parties, AIDS Project Los Angeles and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.”

The East Bay Times says “Proposition 60 is one of those measures that might seem like a good idea until you actually read it .. what we really have here is the daft idea of giving a California porn czar the power to override the state attorney general.”

And the Mercury News notes “State and federal laws already protect adult performers, who are routinely tested for sexually transmitted diseases … this measure could undermine ongoing efforts by the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety (Cal-OSHA) to improve regulation of the industry.”

Several other papers, including the LA Times and the Orange County Register have not yet issued editorials.

Proposition 60 has been opposed by the California Democratic Party, the California Republican Party, Equality California, San Francisco Medical Society, AIDS Project LA, SF AIDS Foundation, the LA LGBT Center, the Transgender Law Center, and the performer group APAC, among others.

ABOUT FSC
The Free Speech Coalition is the national trade association for the adult entertainment and pleasure products industries. Its mission is to lead, protect and support the diverse adult entertainment community.

PRESS CONTACT
Mike Stabile
Communications Director, Free Speech Coalition
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818.650.1973