Do Not Disturb: Porn Study in Progress
Research confirms the hotel offers pay-per-view variety
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Protesters with giant prophylactic props marched in front of the downtown Marriott hotel Wednesday night.
Their message to the chain: wrap it up.
The protesters demanded that Marriott and other hotels stop showing pay-per-view adult movies that include scenes of unprotected sex. And what better way to make the case then to check into a penthouse, shell out $16 and watch some porn -- all in the name of research.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation sent an advocate to view the movies. Apparently, a lot of movies.
"I never saw a condom on any of the films I watched," said representative Miki Jackson. "They had gay porn, they had bi-porn, they had tri-porn, they had heterosexual porn."
Got it -- no matter what you're looking for, you'll find it at the Marriott.
Activists also included the founder of Pink Cross, former adult movie actress Shelley Lubben.
"I'm going to make my voice known," Lubben said.
After the screening, the protesters took it to the streets to show off their creative sign-making. One banner read, "Put a condom on Marriott." Another sign was shaped like a red condom wrapper, although it looked more like an oversized novelty lollipop on a stick.
"Our issue is not pornography," said Michael Weinstein of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "Our issue is the spread of disease."
In the past five years, there have been as many as 20 HIV cases in the industry, according to reports that surfaced last spring. The reports stated that there have been as many as 5,000 cases of sexually transmitted diseases in the industry.
"I really hope that it does not go all condom," actress Sunny Lane said during an interview at Erotica LA in June. "This is entertainment. This is hot, it's passionate, you want to have fun. That's why we get tested."
The activists had not presented their complaints to the Marriott or other hotels before the protests.
