CHATSWORTH, Calif. — On Tuesday, April 19, under the banner of Celebrate Free Speech Lobbying Days (CFSLD), eight teams of adult entertainment professionals fanned out through the California Capitol to carry an economics lesson to the state’s lawmakers: Adult entertainment is big business in this state.
Armed with their Year 2005 White Paper detailing the employment and tax benefits which result from adult commerce in California, adult entertainment celebrities, attorneys, academics, journalists, students and business owners kept more than 60 appointments throughout the day with legislators or staff.
Free Speech Coalition (FSC), the national trade association of the adult entertainment industry, has hosted the 2-day training and political action program in Sacramento for the past eight years. This year’s teams included some of the biggest names in the industry, including Nina Hartley, Brittany Andrews, Inari Vachs, Stormy Daniels, Sunny Leone, Dave Cummings and former talent Anita Cannibal, now a pre-law college student. Among the companies represented were Wicked Pictures, Adam & Eve, AVN, Sportsheets, Titan Media, YNOT Network, Peekay Inc., which has stores in Washington and California, and Passion Video from Missouri. Also represented were sister organizations to FSC, the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) and Association of Club Executives (ACE) of California.
Monday’s training program was designed to prepare the novice lobbyists for their sit-down meetings with legislators the following day and more generally, for advocating for the industry at the local level. The instruction incorporated brief lectures on the history of the adult industry, the basics of First Amendment law as it applies to adult materials and how to frame the most potent arguments in defense of the industry. Each team was provided with a piece of legislation and was expected to analyze it and prepare “testimony” for presentation before a mock legislative hearing composed of experienced team members play- acting as senators. Although the discourse was humorous at times, the experience did help prepare the newcomers for Tuesday’s meetings and serious discussions of issues.
“Every year I’m so impressed with the dedication and enthusiasm of our lobbyists and this year was no different,” commented Kat Sunlove, legislative affairs director, who organized the event. “As one experienced team member said to me, ‘This is a year you’ll remember,’ and I’m sure he is right. More than one person promised to return year after year. That’s very gratifying.”
Other activities included in this year’s CFSLD were a public Community Forum on the controversial topic, “Today’s ‘Porn’ – Entertainment or Addiction?” as well as a legislative reception where members of the Legislature or staffers could converse with the FSC lobbyists in a more casual atmosphere.
CFSLD is sponsored by members of FSC and is intended as a member benefit. FSC thanks this year’s sponsors for their generous support: California Exotic Novelties, Greg Dumas of GEC Media, Elegant Angel, Goalie Entertainment, Lion’s Den, Peekay Inc., Topco Sales, Video Age and Wicked Pictures.