Must Distribute Information on Safe Sex : ‘Adult Businesses’ Target of New Ruling

So-called “adult businesses” will have to distribute information about safe sex if they want to renew their business licenses in West Hollywood, a city official said Thursday.

The Pussycat Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard was the first to be affected by the new rule, which was recently imposed by the city’s Business License Commission.

Once a neighborhood movie house called the Monica, the Pussycat has specialized in X-rated films for at least two decades. The footprints and handprints of X-rated stars Linda Lovelace and Marilyn Chambers are recorded in concrete on the sidewalk in front.

Massage parlors, picture arcades, adult book stores and other such establishments that limit their business to adults will also have to agree to hand out information about AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases when their one-year licenses come up for renewal, said Paul L. Self, the city’s business license officer.

Bars Not Affected

He said there are between 10 and 15 such businesses in the city. Bars are not covered by the rule because they are licensed by the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Department. Nightclubs that offer sexually explicit entertainment are not exempt, Self said.

“With the current AIDS crisis, the more information there is out there the better,” he said. “There’s a lot of good information around, but it’s not getting out to the public, particularly to the heterosexual community.”

The requirement is authorized by licensing laws that allow the city to impose conditions to protect the public health and welfare.

There were no objections from the management of the Pussycat, which has placed two stands on its snack counter stocked with Red Cross leaflets in Spanish and English about acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Earlier efforts to hand the leaflets to each patron proved less successful, said a spokesman for Walnut Properties, which operates 34 Pussycat Theatres in California. Most of the pamphlets were discarded on the floor of the movie house or on the sidewalk outside, he said.

‘Problem for All Society’

“Now, an average of 10 people a day are picking up the pamphlets and leaving the theater with them,” he said. “It’s a matter of educating the people to a major problem for society. It’s not just a gay problem. It’s a problem for all of society.”

Self said he came up with the idea as part of his work with various gay and lesbian groups that are trying to deal with the AIDS epidemic, and won the support of city staffers and the licensing commission.

“An adult business establishment will often attract a clientele that is either sexually oriented or the type of activity within the business appeals to sex interest, like sexually explicit movies or erotica,” he said.

“By having the literature there, it encourages people to understand that sex is good, sex is healthy, but it should be done safely.”

Operators who object to the requirement will be able to ask the commission for an exemption or appeal to the City Council if they are turned down.