By Diane Duke

CANOGA PARK, Calif. – Michael Weinstein and the controversial AIDS Healthcare Foundation have announced they will be protesting at Cal/OSHA offices in Los Angeles. While we’re not exactly sure what they’re protesting—Cal/OSHA is expected to release workplace regulations early next year—we’ve put together a response statement to clarify some of the issues.

Cal/OSHA is currently in the process of drafting regulations specific to the adult film industry. We expect a draft version of the regulations to be available in just a few months and that those regulations will take into account the input of the affected workers—in this case, adult film performers and performer groups—which is something Weinstein and AHF have refused to do.

This is why performers, HIV outreach organizations, LGBT rights groups, public health departments, and civil rights organizations consistently have opposed Mr. Weinstein’s misguided attacks. We think public policy should rest on science and data, rather than his personal moral objections to adult film.

For the record, adult film performers are tested for a full slate of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, every two weeks, using a system that has successfully prevented any transmission of HIV on a regulated adult film set for more than 10 years. Weinstein routinely employs performers who contracted the virus in their personal lives in his campaigns against the adult film industry.

In generating a manufactured crisis, Weinstein not only wastes tax dollars, but also wastes resources that should be used to educate and treat communities where HIV is a real issue. Railing against the adult industry brings Weinstein more press attention than opening clinics in poor, underserved communities, but from the standpoint of public health, it’s cynical and shameful.

We understand that our industry is often misunderstood—something Weinstein capitalizes on time and again. For that reason, we’re happy to talk with anyone about the industry, its safety record and the rights of performers.

Diane Duke is the chief executive officer for the Free Speech Coalition, the national trade organization for the U.S. adult entertainment industry. Its mission is to lead, protect and support the growth and wellbeing of the adult entertainment community.