California to vote on whether porn stars will have to wear condoms

Opponents of the measure say it is an 'unconscionable initiative'

More than 550,000 people signed a petition to see the measure on the ballot (Rex Features)

Californians will take a public vote next year to decide whether actors making pornographic films should wear condoms during sex scenes.

Campaigners hope the measure, which has been in place in Los Angeles County since 2012, will encourage young viewers of porn to partake in safe sex.

More than 550,000 people signed a petition to see the measure on the ballot which is set to take place in November 2016.

If passed, the measure would also require film producers to pay for actors’ vaccinations and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.

Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said the law would help prevent diseases spreading among actors, the Washington Times reported.

“The [number one] way that young people learn about sex in this day and age is pornography on the internet. In porn, real people are having real sex. They’re transmitting actual diseases, and the audience knows it. It’s not like a fictional Hollywood film.”

But opponents of the measure argued that regular testing for sexually transmitted diseases already took place.

The LA Times reported that Diane Duke, chief executive of the Free Speech Coalition, said the initiative could lead to actors being extorted.

“This is an unconscionable initiative that would take a legal and safe industry and push its performers into the shadows.”

Most of the US's adult film industry is based in California.