Acworth Seeks 'Common Ground' with AHF in 'Open Letter'

SAN FRANCISCO—Peter Acworth, the founder and president of Kink.com and the landlord of the iconic San Francisco Armory since 2006, yesterday posted an open letter on his blog to Michael Weinstein, who, as the president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, has almost single-handedly been waging a bruising legal, political and media campaign for several years now to make the use of condoms and other "barrier protections" on adult sets absolutely mandatory. As that campaign comes ever closer to making the use of condoms legally binding on all adult productions in the state, Acworth in his open letter to Weinstein expresses his concern that "what remains of the adult video industry will leave" California, thereby threatening "the performer protections we’ve worked so hard to create," as well as his "hope that there is still a chance for common ground which will allow the industry to function while staying in California, and yet go a long way towards alleviating your concerns." Acworth suggests four measures to achieve that common ground: * A multi-faceted approach to performer safety that avoids one-size-fits-all solutions. * Better education for performers and fans. * Condom-optional sets, with no discrimination for performers who request to use them. * Embracing the use of a PrEP regimen. The blog concludes, "Please, Mr. Weinstein, take this letter at face value. There is no hidden agenda. I am reaching out to you and AHF in the hopes of a day where we may sit across the table from one another and agree on common goals and strategy on protecting performers, as opposed to continuing this battle. I hope to hear back from you." Peter Acworth's Open Letter to Michael Weinstein can be read in its entirety here.