Third porn actor to test HIV-positive puts pressure on industry

News of a third adult-film actor testing positive for HIV is putting new pressure on both the industry and state lawmakers.

The HIV cases have added fuel to a push for a statewide mandate for condom use in adult films. L.A. County voters approved such a mandate last year, which is the subject of an ongoing court battle.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, an advocacy group pushing for the statewide condom rule, launched a robocall campaign Thursday against Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), who they allege halted the legislation. Gatto denied that he was holding the bill back. Gatto held a previous version of the measure in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The current bill, authored by Isadore Hall (D-Compton), is on hold in the Senate because it is too similar to the bill that was held.

The group took another shot at Gatto in the wake of Friday’s announcement.

“We lay complete blame for this outbreak at the feet of Assemblymember Gatto, the pornographers and Los Angeles County,” Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said in a statement. “How many more before we act?”

The foundation also appealed to California Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles) to allow the bill to move forward.

The new HIV cases have generated concern.

Last month an actress who goes by the screen name Cameron Bay tested positive for HIV, prompting a weeklong voluntary halt on shooting in the industry. On Tuesday a second performer, Rod Daily, who performs primarily in gay porn but is romantically linked to Bay, announced that he had also tested positive.

Daily told the Los Angeles Daily News that he took his test at a clinic in Arizona unaffiliated with the industry STD testing system, and the Free Speech Coalition initially said that it had not been formally notified of the case.

The coalition called for a new moratorium Friday afternoon, saying it had been notified that another performer had tested positive for HIV, but it was not immediately clear whether that performer was Daily or a third person.

Free Speech Coalition spokeswoman Joanne Cachapero said late Friday that the new case involved a third performer.

The group said in a statement that the performer whose case prompted the current moratorium had not done a shoot since before the first moratorium. The industry required performers whose last STD test was prior to Aug. 19 to be retested if they wanted to continue performing. The coalition said it would cover the cost of retesting for the performer’s partners.

“While we don’t have evidence to suggest an on-set transmission as opposed to a transmission from non-industry (off-camera) related activity, we are taking every measure to determine the source and to protect the performer pool,” the coalition said in the statement.

A spokesman for Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said the department had not been notified of a new case.

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