Porn Valley- I spoke to consumer lobbyist Mike Ross this morning. Ross spent the weekend reading the various accounts of Friday's hearing which had the adult industry presenting testimony before the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment.
Ross: "I don't think the industry really helped itself. I think no matter what happens, the industry is going to turn around and higher standards are going to come from this hearing. They're going to try to bend over backwards proving that regulation is not needed and the only way they can do that is to increase the quality of what they're providing to the talent. It's simple. If they don't do that the legislature is going to step in and do something."
Overall, Ross was of the opinion that the hearing accomplished its goals. "Now we've got to make sure the industry stands behind what it said. I'm glad that most of the people seemed to be very open and honest. But I do want to comment on the 'underground-thing' again. Not only will this not happen. Nobody will go underground for two major reasons. The industry's way too high-profile. And how is anyone going to be able to sell their videos if they're underground? That's the major flaw in all the thinking."
Ross found it odd that Bill Margold wasn't on the adult panel. "He's the one who seems to have the most impact, is the most vocal. He's the guy who waves the flag for Free Speech in general."
On the other hand, Ross said he was happy to see that the health officials at least support the concepts of the Leslie Bill. "You may not support it because of the way it's written; but you can support the concepts. I believe if everybody's supporting those concepts, then, bingo, what will happen is that they'll be able to push forward and change the industry."
Judging by the sparse turnout of porn performers at the hearing, Ross feels it's really sad that today's climate in the adult industry is prohibitive to speaking out. "I know Nina Hartley did and I respect Nina," he says. "But she's too tied in to the establishment. I'm trying to say this in the most tactful of ways. She's not a newcomer. She can call her own shots. She's like Ron Jeremy- and the same stature. When they walk into a room, heads turn. When they say it should be this way, things change. Slowly but surely things are changing and I want to see this industry as a quality industry, one that consumers can look up to."
Ross also glommed onto the ambiguous comment by attorney Jeffrey Douglas about "the adult industry disappearing from the regulatory capacity of the state or county."
"I don't know how he can say that," Ross states. "Here's a guy who's an attorney and knows that these people aren't going to be able to sell their products. Here's one thing I can see changing- Title 18- all they have to do is add a couple of words saying you can't sell your products unless certificates are on file."
A wild-card in the whole issue says Ross is the idea of Free Speech. "This is one of the problems I have, conceptually, with the Free Speech Coalition," Ross says.
"In Sacramento when you turn around and have a political action committee, 95% of the political action committees stand for the name, i.e., Teachers Against Drug Abuse. When you turn around and call yourself the Free Speech Coalition and then hide behind it because you really don't have what are considered to be Free Speech advocates, but you have people in the adult entertainment industry who are clamoring for Free Speech, it's kind of misleading. The bottom line is the people who belong to the Free Speech Coalition are from the adult entertainment industry. You don't see the other mainstream First Amendment people joining the Free Speech Coalition."
Ross says the real ballgame now is what's going to happen behind the scenes not only in the industry but in Sacramento.
"I think all the arguments and concepts that went out on Friday go more to prove that something needs to be done and codify policies that will make this industry survive and help it survive," Ross goes on to say. "If this industry really wants to survive and turn around and blossom into the 21st century, what they should do is work with government. Once you start adopting consumer practices, health practices and worker safety practices, the government is not going to turn around and put you out of business. They only put people out of business that they consider to be illegal for not following the policies and laws. Everyone who complies, they make them a mainstream business.
"If you comply with the law, you get the benefits of the law," Ross continues. "If you don't comply with the law, you're the bad boy and put off in the corner. I don't see why if porn companies didn't stand up and say we support this or we support that, why they wouldn't be able to sell more products and attract more investors. The industry has been at the forefront of technology. The reality comes down to the fact that they're going to stay at the forefront. Sex sells. This industry will not go underground because there's so many products coming out of the industry that it's going to be impossible for them to go underground. That's a fallacious argument. If companies go underground, then the Free Speech Coalition should not recognize them and they should not be able to sell their products."
