SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 01, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
The Women's Building, San Francisco
November 1, 2016
12PM
WHAT:
A new analysis by the LA Department of Public Health concluded that Proposition 60, the Adult Film Act, will have a negative effect on adult film performer health and safety. We are bringing together performers, advocates and coalition partners to discuss the immediate dangers of Prop 60.
- Adult film performers will detail personal experiences with stalkers, and discuss how those people would be able to use Prop 60’s lawsuit provision to access and attack them.
- Public health advocates will talk about their opposition to the measure, from underground production concerns to the fear-and-stigma based tactics being used by Proponents.
WHO:
Ariel X, Adult Film Performer
Venus Lux, Adult Film Performer, Adult Performer Advocacy Committee (APAC)
Verta, Adult Film Performer, APAC Representative
Sup. Scott Weiner, State Senate Candidate
Sup. Jane Kim, State Senate Candidate
Jo Michael, Equality California
Courtney Mulhern-Pearson, San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Brian Leubitz, Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
WHEN:
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
12PM - 1PM
WHERE:
Audre Lorde Room
The Women’s Building
3543 18th St
San Francisco CA 94110
WHY:
Thousands of adult performers, public health advocates, and newspaper editorial boards agree: Proposition 60 will make the lives of adult film performers more dangerous and sets less safe.
Proposition 60, the adult film initiative, would allow any resident of California to sue an adult performer if they see an adult film without a visible condom. In addition to the costs and burden of the lawsuits, Prop 60 would expose performers private information, giving stalkers and profiteers a tool with which they can harm, harass and extort adult performers.
As support for the Proposition falls, the “Yes on 60” campaign has employed scare tactics to try to discredit the performers and public health care advocates who have spoken out against it, including
- Labeling performers a public health threat
- Misrepresenting STI incidences in the industry
- Employing HIV-phobia and homophobia in appeals to rural and religious voters
Such tactics not only mislead voters, they negatively affect public health outcomes.
The goal of the press conference is to bring attention to the stories of performers, raise awareness of the dangers of underground production, and to call out Michael Weinstein, the Proposition proponent, for messaging that portrays performers as a threat to public health.
“The Department of Public Health reports that implementation of Proposition 60 would further drive the adult entertainment industry underground or to places that offer few protections for adult film workers. DPH notes that since the enactment of Measure B, there has been a decrease in number of entities filing for a film permit through DPH. According to DPH, this has limited the opportunity for DPH to monitor disease transmission and to provide appropriate interventions to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. In absence of disease control measures, DPH reports that there could be an increase in the number of sexually transmitted diseases. The magnitude of the increase would be extremely difficult to determine and to react to if adult film production is driven further underground. The DPH indicates that this could have the opposite of the desired effect of the ballot initiative, which is to increase the health and safety of adult film workers.”
— ”Updated Overview of the November 8 General Election Ballot Measures,” Los Angeles Board of Supervisors
Proposition 60 is the only ballot measure that has been opposed by both the California Democratic Party and the California Republican Party. It has been opposed by over fifty local and issue-based political clubs; over forty five newspaper editorial boards (including each of the state’s ten largest papers); over a hundred HIV/AIDS organizations, doctors and civil rights advocates; and the performers’ groups APAC and APAG. Over the past several months, nearly two thousand performers have actively campaigned against Proposition 60 by speaking out at campuses, farmers markets and on social media, as well as leading political rallies and protests.
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.