Porn Valley- Another extension was made this month delaying enforcement of expanded federal regulations that some adult Web sites say threaten the use of nude photos, a staple of their popularity.

The temporary reprieve of enforcement of newly revised 18 U.S. Code 2257 was extended to members of the Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry trade group, until Nov. 30. A similar month-long agreement expired Oct. 31.

Attorneys with the Free Speech Coalition filed a motion for the extension in the U.S. District Court of Colorado on Oct. 31. The Free Speech Coalition announced Nov. 2 it hired the Raben Group to lobby in Washington on behalf of the adult industry. The Raben Group was founded by Robert Raben, [pictured] who worked in the office of legislative affairs as an assistant attorney general during President Bill Clinton’s administration.

Other clients of the Raben Group include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association and the gay National Black Justice Coalition, according to its Web site.

“We are very excited about working with a group of smart, experienced and dedicated people who are interested in the issues and messages we want to impart, and have the connections inside the beltway to get those messages to the right people,” Tom Hymes, spokesperson for the Free Speech Coalition, told AVN.com, an industry Web site.

The FSC, on behalf of its members, filed suit against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales this summer and is seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the Department of Justice from enforcing the newly revised “2257.” The law mandates that producers of sexually explicit materials verify the ages of actors, models and others in the content through the use of detailed records, including their addresses, a photo identification card and their legal names. The case was argued Aug. 2 in the U.S. District Court of Colorado before Judge Walker D. Miller. M4msex.com Web site director Steven Alexander has said his site would not remove nude photos or require signed release forms from members posting them, although it is possible they could be prosecuted.

The Free Speech Coalition, which says it has gay businesses among its 3,625 members, believes the new federal guidelines are unconstitutional, violate privacy laws and would place an undue burden on “secondary producers” named in the new revisions, such as owners of personals Web sites with sexually explicit photos, including Gay.com, Bigmuscle.com, men4now.com and adam4adam.com.

The government defines “sexually explicit conduct” as actual or simulated “sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; bestiality; masturbation; sadistic or masochistic abuse; or lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person.”

In a brief filed Aug. 1, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Bohn argued that the newly revised law must be enforced due to the widespread proliferation of child pornography on the Internet and that the new provisions do not violate the right to privacy.

“There is a sizable market for sexually explicit depictions of ‘teens’ and individuals with less mature physical characteristics,” Bohn argues. “In addition to heterosexual sex and lesbian and homosexual sex between young-looking performers, these Web sites included depictions of what purported to be incest.”

Revisions to the law, which were originally set to take effect June 24, were put on hold on when the FSC and federal officials agreed to the delays of enforcement.

BigMuscleBears.com and BigMuscle.com, Web sites for gay men, asked members in August not to post images depicting sexual fluids or any kind of anal penetration on the sites due to the revisions in the federal regulations. Nudity was still allowed, according to the statement posted on the sites, but members were advised to post only solo images as part of a self-policing effort.

Adam4adam.com includes a “2257” link allowing members to report what they believe may be a violation of the federal regulations.

Nudity itself is not considered sexually explicit, but posting shots of masturbation could be deemed criminal activity, according to Hymes.

For instance, under the new rules, a man posting a picture on a Web site fondling himself might have to prove to site owners that he is 18 or older, and documentation must be on file with the Web site that includes government-issued identification cards, Social Security number, name and address, he said. This documentation then could be subject to random government searches.

In June, Gay.com, a member of the Free Speech Coalition, temporarily removed nude photos but re-posted them when the agreement was reached to delay enforcement. Bareback.com is also a member of FSC and continues to post explicit images.

“We understand that the adult entertainment community is as eager as we are to have a ruling on our motion for a preliminary injunction,” said FSC Executive Director Michelle L. Freridge in a statement.

“But sometimes the wheels of justice revolve very slowly, and we simply must be patient. But make no mistake, we are as confident as ever that our arguments challenging these abusive regulations will win out at the end of the day.”