Marc J. Randazza has posted The Freedom to Film Pornography (Nevada Law Journal, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Of all the legal tropes that the author has heard shouted over the din of a somewhat crowded bar smelling of last night’s spilled beer and roach spray (or those that keep getting repeated by abject idiots on the Internet), the one that annoys him the most is the oft-repeated, but never true, “it is legal to film porn only in California and New Hampshire.”
This is, at best, an uneducated fool repeating a myth. At worst, it is a lie — and a convenient one that politicians, journalists, and assorted other brands of fools continue to repeat.
Therefore, this article is primarily aimed at the curious, but it is also intended to educate the misinformed and to embarrass those who knowingly misrepresent the state of the law.
But, if the author is going to be that bold, He had better be able to answer some questions. For example, why isn’t commercial porn production actually “filmed prostitution?” A simplistic view of the commercial pornography industry might suggest an easy, and contrary, answer.
A: Prostitution is paying for sex.
B: Commercial pornography actors take money to have sex.
A B = commercial porn actors are prostitutes, and commercial porn directors are pimps.
But, that's just not how it works. That isn't how any of this works.
So, repeat after me WITH FEELING:
1. "Pornography is not prostitution"
2. "It is legal to film porn everywhere in America"
Now, download the article and read it so that you can learn why.
You'll be smarter, and way more interesting at parties. Think about it. Some smarmy sanctimonious clown will think that surfing Reddit substitutes for three years of law school and a bar exam. They'll say "you know you can only film porn in Calif. and New Hampshire." Then you can triumphantly proclaim "oh yeah, well I read the complete study of this issue and you are WRONG." You'll totally trash that imbecile. You'll be the coolest one at the party. You might even get a nickname like, "porn lawyer" or something like that.
Or, you can just be satisfied with being able to know what you're talking about.
