In a 9-1 vote, the Los Angeles City Council approved a rule, requiring the use of condoms in all porn shoots taking place in LA – including the San Fernando Valley, a major hub for the porn industry in America.

“It’s a great day for the performers and safer sex in our society,” said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has been waging a largely lonely battle for mandatory condom use for years. “This is the first legislative body to take up the issue and the near-unanimous support is very gratifying.”

The ordinance came about as a result of recent outbreaks of HIV among porn stars and is meant to serve as a protective measure to reduce transmission of infection and disease. By law, porn stars are required to test negative for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections within 30 days of going to work on a film. Darren James, a former porn star who was at the center of a HIV controversy a few years back, has come out in ardent support of the measure. According to James, actors are “not getting the protection they need.” James goes on to say that “you think you’re safe, but you’re not. In between scenes, you don’t know what other actors are doing.”

Representatives from the porn industry are not pleased the measure has passed. Diane Duke of the Free Speech Coalition said, “This is government overreach. It’s not about performer health and safety, it’s about government regulating what happens between consenting adults.” Others have vocalized that viewers tend to find the use of condoms as a turnoff.

Respectfully, I must disagree with Ms. Duke. I understand that many men – and some women – find condoms uncomfortable and tend find that they reduce sensation and pleasure, however I believe that the use of condoms has everything to do with not only the health and safety of performers but with setting a strong and positive message about health to porn viewers. Porn often relies on constructing fantasies for patrons and perhaps individuals, enjoying some self-love, do not want to think about sexual consequences when they are enjoying porn. However, these sexual consequences exist in the world of sexual health and I feel it is a bit irresponsible for the porn industry to not use condoms. It puts actors at risk and also creates false realities for viewers.

What do you think though? Is the government overstepping by mandating the use of condoms in porn? Should porn companies be able to make that individual decision for themselves? Or is it important to protect porn actors, just as the government has established protocols workers in other arenas?