from www.laweekly.com – A major health professionals’ group this week weighed in on the ongoing battle over condoms in porn, and the industry probably isn’t going to like it’s, er, position.

American Public Health Association just posted an apparently long-simmering, uh, “position paper” (no joke), in which it states that it wants federal and state authorities to “require the use of condoms in the production of adult films.”

That’s great, but …

… the state of California already requires it, and state officials told us one of the reasons why is their reading of federal rules.

So looks like the 50,000-member group is urging officials to do what they do.

However, while California workplace-safety regulators say condoms are required, they don’t always mean it. What we’re trying to say is, essentially, the state claims not to have the resources to really enforce its rules.

So porn does what it does. And that is condom-free shoots, mostly.

Industry leaders say that’s all you’ll buy. And they say that if condom-use were truly enforced, L.A.-based porn production would leave the state and go underground, where things would be more dangerous than just condom-free banging.

Anyway, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which has really been banging away on this issue, was happy with the association’s stance. AHF honcho Michael Weinstein says:

This well-researched policy statement and related safety recommendations issued by the American Public Health Association this week adds significant weight to ongoing efforts by AHF and other AIDS advocates to improve and protect the health and safety of adult film workers. We thank APHA for contributing its considerable voice to ongoing efforts to improve worker safety on adult film sets through legislative, regulatory and enforcement means and mechanisms.

So there you go. In your face, porn industry.