L.A. County's Condom Law Prompts Lawsuit

Adult filmmakers and actors sued Los Angeles County today, alleging the new law requiring porn actors to wear condoms is unconstitutional.

The complaint, filed in federal court by Vivid Entertainment, Califa Productions and porn actors Kayden Kross and Logan Pierce, contends that Measure B violates the First Amendment right to free expression and is unnecessary because the industry already regulates itself against HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

The lawsuit also challenges the county's jurisdiction to regulate adult production on performer health and safety.

A representative of the county counsel said there was no immediate comment because the office had just been notified of the suit.

"Overturning this law is something I feel very passionate about," said Steven Hirsch, founder/co-chairman of Los Angeles-based Vivid Entertainment. "I believe the industry's current testing system works well."

Hirsch said that since 2004, more than 300,000 explicit scenes were filmed with no HIV/AIDS transmission.

"Measure B will have vast unintended consequences which may undermine industry efforts to protect the health of our actors and actresses," he said.

The porn industry also maintains that the measure could end up driving production overseas where no protections exist.