Measure B Passes

[mikesouth]

from http://www.mikesouth.com

This ones a done deal
with 33% of precincts voting

B - SAFER SEX IN ADULT FILMS -
YES 513,580 60.45%
NO 336,001 39.55%

This is a win for Measure B

[mozadek]

Fucking pathetic.

[The Ghost]

The question now is what will those studios do: Leave, comply or ignore

[mikesouth]

they will challenge it in court the lose unless they get their shit together

[fitzmulti]

What a freakin' waste of time, energy, and resources...
Condom Cop Patrol! :P

[LDM Talent]

So what is the deal with this? Is this nation wide or just cali?

Originally Posted by The Ghost

The question now is what will those studios do: Leave, comply or ignore

[fitzmulti]

Originally Posted by LDM Talent

So what is the deal with this? Is this nation wide or just cali?

Los Angeles County.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/lo...177573761.html

[Paul&John]

Originally Posted by fitzmulti

Los Angeles County.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/lo...177573761.html

Hm then they will just move out of LA and it's everything ok, right? Or they will just say they didn't shoot the indoor porn in LA..?

[CyberHustler]

Why is this industry so anti-condom?

[Paul&John]

Originally Posted by CyberHustler

Why is this industry so anti-condom?

I personally don't like watching porn where a pussy is fucked using a condom

[CyberHustler]

I thought the same, until I saw Wicked's new ads... they make condom porn look good. You could rub one off just to one of their banners.

[The Ghost]

Originally Posted by CyberHustler

I thought the same, until I saw Wicked's new ads... they make condom porn look good. You could rub one off just to one of their banners.

Post one. TIA

[Paul Markham]

Anyone who expected anything else was dreaming while on acid.

[notinmybackyard]

Originally Posted by CyberHustler

Why is this industry so anti-condom?

Because if you produce the gonzo genre it equals to about a 40% to 50% more sales. Feature films the impact is minimal.

[xanadu]

its 56,5-43,5 now at 74% of the votes, maybe the final difference will be even smaller but hard to change the end result, probably it will be 54-46 at the end if it continues with the same rythm(was almost 70-30 in the start....)

sucks to be so close, i am sure if the industry had come together more and act a bit faster, we would have easily avoid it

Its not the end of porn of course but a sad day for sure....

Instead of becoming more socially accepted and open more markets for our work/products, we keep being regulated from others on our behalf...

[DWB]

Originally Posted by Paul&John

I personally don't like watching porn where a pussy is fucked using a condom

Me neither. But I watch censored Japanese porn with no problem.

[Matyko]

Originally Posted by Paul&John

I personally don't like watching porn where a pussy is fucked using a condom

+1

[DWB]

Originally Posted by xanadu

Instead of becoming more socially accepted and open more markets for our work/products, we keep being regulated from others on our behalf...

Cause and effect.

[Serious-Partner]

Originally Posted by The Ghost

The question now is what will those studios do: Leave, comply or ignore

They will come to nearest states and shoot there. That's all.

[DWB]

Originally Posted by Serious-Partner

They will come to nearest states and shoot there. That's all.

That or just ignore it.

I find it hard to believe California of all places has the money to enforce this. The state is completely broke. At best maybe a couple of the large targets may get a visit or two, but the funds are not there to keep it going.

[JuicyBunny]

Originally Posted by DWB

That or just ignore it.

I find it hard to believe California of all places has the money to enforce this. The state is completely broke. At best maybe a couple of the large targets may get a visit or two, but the funds are not there to keep it going.

Good ol Cali. Spend $20 to save $10. Do they somehow think this is going to stem the rising tide of STD's in the gen pop?

I watch a fair amount of Japanese porn with condoms. As the guy pulls out he slips it off and still gets the cumshot to the face/body/mouth. Will something like that be illegal in LA county now?

[DWB]

Originally Posted by JuicyBunny

I watch a fair amount of Japanese porn with condoms. As the guy pulls out he slips it off and still gets the cumshot to the face/body/mouth. Will something like that be illegal in LA county now?

Good question. I'd guess they can not exchange fluids, which would probably also rule out kissing and 65 guy bukkake scenes.

[topnotch, standup guy]

Originally Posted by The Ghost

The question now is what will those studios do: Leave, comply or ignore

All of the above probably.

As for the one's that comply.. it'll be easy to spot their product in the future.

[AllAboutCams]

Does this mean blowjobs with a condom

[xanadu]

1,171,287 YES 55.85%
925,782 NO 44.15%

100% of votes

[topnotch, standup guy]

Originally Posted by AllAboutCams

Does this mean blowjobs with a condom

Yeah, that sounds like something that'll really sell

Porn will move out of LA County. Simple as that.


.

[notinmybackyard]

Originally Posted by xanadu

Instead of becoming more socially accepted and open more markets for our work/products, we keep being regulated from others on our behalf...

Sad day for los angeles gonzo producing pornographers but it is opportunity for pornographers in other parts of your nation.

But having said that,
Porn should always be an underground industry. Because the moment it becomes mainstream..The money earned becomes garbarge due to too many people looking for a share of the profits and then there is the problem with regulations, etc.

This condom law might turn out to be good thing for the United States porn industry. Du to it maybe start driving the business back underground.

[DWB]

Originally Posted by notinmybackyard

Porn should always be an underground industry.

And assholes, cheaters, scammers, and thieves are dealt with appropriately, which is with baseball bats.

[TheSquealer]

Obviously it passed.

People don't care about "pornographers" and think they are assholes... so any campaign like those I saw by "pornographers" was little more than telling people "do the opposite of what we say and want because as you know, we are asshole... OH! and P.S. Oprah Winfrey, Steve Hirsch has an offer for you to do a bukkake scene" - That's all people read. You are a bunch of dickheads with zero credibility in the eyes of the public. You are scum. You are predators and you are losers. To the public, you are still just a bunch of pimps with gold teeth, unbuttoned shirts, hairy chests preying on runaway teens. Every fucking idiot that got behind the idea to make an appeal on behalf of the industry should be fired from their jobs immediately.

Then there was the fact that there was no single, simple message. "Hope and Change" etc. It was a bunch of unbelievable and nonsensical scare tactics showing people in biohazard suits and direct appeals to consumers (people who could care less) with random, inconsistent messages. Really dipshits? Basic marketing 101. You need a single, simple, clear message that not only resonates with and appeals to the customer but that is instantly credible and believable. You all failed miserably in that department, being the fragmented, individualist, antisocial group of shits that you are. What a shocker.

The issue at hand is simple.

Safety.

You will not win an argument against safety unless you can prove the proposed measure "for" is dangerous. End of story. This is how it works in the real world. This is why we have warnings on hair dryers not to use them while standing in the shower. Get it? There is no argument against warning people and only arguments for, hence the warning.

This business is so full of ineptitude and stupidity, that its difficult at times to even decide where to begin in pointing it out.

One a final note... Uhm.... really? You honestly think that there should be no rules and regulations regarding the spread of contagious and deadly disease in the work place? What fucking planet are you living on where you don't see the government eventually getting involved? Testing is extremely flawed. In what other industry does this happen where safety issues aren't regulated? You can't cook in a kitchen without a hair net... but it should be ok to run around spraying HIV, Hepatitis and everything else all over each others faces? There is no word that describes how retarded you are to think thats how it should be. In fact, a new word will need to be invented to describe the level of stupidity for most of the morons in this biz.

Every single argument you fucking morons have is a losing argument. Testing is flawed. People fake tests/cheat. Models escort. Disease is rampant. Disease affects everyone.. not just the people on the film set. ... and you people are again, proving to the public why you are just a bunch of assholes that should never be trusted or believed and should remain on the fringe.

[DWB]

Originally Posted by TheSquealer

Obviously it passed.

People don't care about "pornographers" and think they are assholes... so any campaign like those I saw by "pornographers" was little more than telling people "do the opposite of what we say and want because as you know, we are asshole... OH! and P.S. Oprah Winfrey, Steve Hirsch has an offer for you to do a bukkake scene" - That's all people read.

You are a bunch of dickheads with zero credibility in the eyes of the public. You are scum. You are predators and you are losers. To the public, you are still just a bunch of pimps with gold teeth, unbuttoned shirts, hairy chests preying on runaway teens.

Every fucking idiot that got behind the idea to make an appeal on behalf of the industry should be fired from their jobs immediately.

Then there was the fact that there was no single, simple message. "Hope and Change" etc. It was a bunch of unbelievable and nonsensical scare tactics showing people in biohazard suits and direct appeals to consumers (people who could care less) with random, inconsistent messages. Really dipshits? Basic marketing 101. You need a single, simple, clear message that not only resonates with and appeals to the customer but that is instantly credible and believable. You all failed miserably in that department, being the fragmented, individualist, antisocial group of shits that you are.

The issue at hand is simple.

Safety.

You will not win an argument against safety unless you can prove the proposed measure "for" is dangerous. End of story. This is how it works in the real world. This is why we have warnings on hair dryers not to use them while standing in the shower. Get it? There is no argument against warning people and only arguments for, hence the warning.

This business is so full of ineptitude and stupidity, that its difficult at times to even decide where to begin in pointing it out.

One a final note... Uhm.... really? You honestly think that there should be no rules and regulations regarding the spread of contagious and deadly disease in the work place? What fucking planet are you living on where you don't see the government eventually getting involved?

Testing is extremely flawed. In what other industry does this happen where safety issues aren't regulated? You can't cook in a kitchen without a hair net... but it should be ok to run around spraying HIV, Hepatitis and everything else all over each others faces?

There is no word that describes how retarded you are to think thats how it should be. In fact, a new word will need to be invented to describe the level of stupidity for most of the morons in this biz.

Every single argument you fucking morons have is a losing argument. Testing is flawed. People fake tests/cheat. Models escort. Disease is rampant. Disease affects everyone.. not just the people on the film set. ... and you people are again, proving to the public why you are just a bunch of assholes that should never be trusted or believed and should remain on the fringe.

God damn, that is an awesome post. That is brutal truth to the core.

Originally Posted by TheSquealer

In fact, a new word will need to be invented to describe the level of stupidity for most of the morons in this biz.

The word is "Manwin."

[Nathan]

It is not so obvious that it passed! 56/44 is far from obvious! We moved this from a 70/30 poll too 56/44! Our campaign had results, we just did not do enough, more support for more tv ads would have pushed this over the edge. That's the thing that we learned from this...

We will see what happens next...

[TheSquealer]

Originally Posted by Nathan

It is not so obvious that it passed! 56/44 is far from obvious! We moved this from a 70/30 poll too 56/44! Our campaign had results, we just did not do enough, more support for more tv ads would have pushed this over the edge. That's the thing that we learned from this...

We will see what happens next...

Fingers crossed! I'm sure a county full of Catholic Mexicans are going to rally behind pornographers at the last minute.

[pornguy]

Originally Posted by The Ghost

The question now is what will those studios do: Leave, comply or ignore

Leaving and taking the money and jobs with them would be the best thing they could do.

[The Porn Nerd]

Time to invest in condom companies. :D

[DWB]

Originally Posted by Nathan

It is not so obvious that it passed! 56/44 is far from obvious! We moved this from a 70/30 poll too 56/44! Our campaign had results, we just did not do enough, more support for more tv ads would have pushed this over the edge. That's the thing that we learned from this...

We will see what happens next...

What you are saying is, with all the experience from the FSC, your lawyers, other industry lawyers, James Lee, top industry professionals, and everyone else, that no one knew what could have pushed it over the edge to your favor until it was over and you lost?

Sounds like a well thought out plan and money well spent.

Originally Posted by TheSquealer

Fingers crossed! I'm sure a county full of Catholic Mexicans are going to rally behind pornographers at the last minute.

[escorpio]

Originally Posted by TheSquealer

Obviously it passed.

People don't care about "pornographers" and think they are assholes... so any campaign like those I saw by "pornographers" was little more than telling people "do the opposite of what we say and want because as you know, we are asshole... OH! and P.S. Oprah Winfrey, Steve Hirsch has an offer for you to do a bukkake scene" - That's all people read. You are a bunch of dickheads with zero credibility in the eyes of the public. You are scum. You are predators and you are losers. To the public, you are still just a bunch of pimps with gold teeth, unbuttoned shirts, hairy chests preying on runaway teens. Every fucking idiot that got behind the idea to make an appeal on behalf of the industry should be fired from their jobs immediately.

Then there was the fact that there was no single, simple message. "Hope and Change" etc. It was a bunch of unbelievable and nonsensical scare tactics showing people in biohazard suits and direct appeals to consumers (people who could care less) with random, inconsistent messages. Really dipshits? Basic marketing 101. You need a single, simple, clear message that not only resonates with and appeals to the customer but that is instantly credible and believable. You all failed miserably in that department, being the fragmented, individualist, antisocial group of shits that you are. What a shocker.

The issue at hand is simple.

Safety.

You will not win an argument against safety unless you can prove the proposed measure "for" is dangerous. End of story. This is how it works in the real world. This is why we have warnings on hair dryers not to use them while standing in the shower. Get it? There is no argument against warning people and only arguments for, hence the warning.

This business is so full of ineptitude and stupidity, that its difficult at times to even decide where to begin in pointing it out.

One a final note... Uhm.... really? You honestly think that there should be no rules and regulations regarding the spread of contagious and deadly disease in the work place? What fucking planet are you living on where you don't see the government eventually getting involved? Testing is extremely flawed. In what other industry does this happen where safety issues aren't regulated? You can't cook in a kitchen without a hair net... but it should be ok to run around spraying HIV, Hepatitis and everything else all over each others faces? There is no word that describes how retarded you are to think thats how it should be. In fact, a new word will need to be invented to describe the level of stupidity for most of the morons in this biz.

Every single argument you fucking morons have is a losing argument. Testing is flawed. People fake tests/cheat. Models escort. Disease is rampant. Disease affects everyone.. not just the people on the film set. ... and you people are again, proving to the public why you are just a bunch of assholes that should never be trusted or believed and should remain on the fringe.

God, I love it when people tell the fucking truth.

[notinmybackyard]

Originally Posted by DWB

And assholes, cheaters, scammers, and thieves are dealt with appropriately, which is with baseball bats.

Despite some of the new webkiddies that are a community on their own and have no idea how to make real money. In my area of the world there are a small handful of the old school pornographers left and a couple of young ones that have learned from them.

If you want to make money you keep your head down, maintain polite but quite relations with the other pornographers and those that bring attention to themselves or the industry you avoid like a disease. Do not even acknowledge their existence or film the same girls that they use.

My advice is unless you are in Los Angeles. Ignore what is happening there and use this as an opportunity to grab market share. But if you are in Los Angeles, I wish you good luck.

Originally Posted by Nathan

It is not so obvious that it passed! 56/44 is far from obvious! We moved this from a 70/30 poll too 56/44! Our campaign had results, we just did not do enough, more support for more tv ads would have pushed this over the edge. That's the thing that we learned from this...

We will see what happens next...

Next time try things the old way,

Take a politician out to for a good time, introduce him to some of the girls and make sure he gets big gifts for all the holidays. It is cheaper and more efficient.

But like most of the new people in porn that entered this industry in the last 5 to 10 years on here, I sincerly doubt you will still be around for another 5 more years.

[BlackCrayon]

why regular people are having the final say, i just don't get. it should of only been industry people who can vote for it. they are the ones being affected one way or the other.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by DWB

What you are saying is, with all the experience from the FSC, your lawyers, other industry lawyers, James Lee, top industry professionals, and everyone else, that no one knew what could have pushed it over the edge to your favor until it was over and you lost?

Sounds like a well thought out plan and money well spent.

Idiot. Note Money would have helped. We said so all along.

[BlackCrayon]

Originally Posted by TheSquealer

Obviously it passed.

People don't care about "pornographers" and think they are assholes... so any campaign like those I saw by "pornographers" was little more than telling people "do the opposite of what we say and want because as you know, we are asshole... OH! and P.S. Oprah Winfrey, Steve Hirsch has an offer for you to do a bukkake scene" - That's all people read. You are a bunch of dickheads with zero credibility in the eyes of the public. You are scum. You are predators and you are losers. To the public, you are still just a bunch of pimps with gold teeth, unbuttoned shirts, hairy chests preying on runaway teens. Every fucking idiot that got behind the idea to make an appeal on behalf of the industry should be fired from their jobs immediately.

Then there was the fact that there was no single, simple message. "Hope and Change" etc. It was a bunch of unbelievable and nonsensical scare tactics showing people in biohazard suits and direct appeals to consumers (people who could care less) with random, inconsistent messages. Really dipshits? Basic marketing 101. You need a single, simple, clear message that not only resonates with and appeals to the customer but that is instantly credible and believable. You all failed miserably in that department, being the fragmented, individualist, antisocial group of shits that you are. What a shocker.

The issue at hand is simple.

Safety.

You will not win an argument against safety unless you can prove the proposed measure "for" is dangerous. End of story. This is how it works in the real world. This is why we have warnings on hair dryers not to use them while standing in the shower. Get it? There is no argument against warning people and only arguments for, hence the warning.

This business is so full of ineptitude and stupidity, that its difficult at times to even decide where to begin in pointing it out.

One a final note... Uhm.... really? You honestly think that there should be no rules and regulations regarding the spread of contagious and deadly disease in the work place? What fucking planet are you living on where you don't see the government eventually getting involved? Testing is extremely flawed. In what other industry does this happen where safety issues aren't regulated? You can't cook in a kitchen without a hair net... but it should be ok to run around spraying HIV, Hepatitis and everything else all over each others faces? There is no word that describes how retarded you are to think thats how it should be. In fact, a new word will need to be invented to describe the level of stupidity for most of the morons in this biz.

Every single argument you fucking morons have is a losing argument. Testing is flawed. People fake tests/cheat. Models escort. Disease is rampant. Disease affects everyone.. not just the people on the film set. ... and you people are again, proving to the public why you are just a bunch of assholes that should never be trusted or believed and should remain on the fringe.

I can agree with most of that but it does nothing for public safety. such a small amount of people in porn compared to the public at large that are not practicing safe sex and in some situations, purposely spreading stds. they should of passed a law forcing ALL people to wear condoms during any kind of sexual activity if it was really about public safety and not just a way to tax and fine the adult industry.

[Mr Pheer]

Las Vegas will become the new San Fernando Valley.

[TheSquealer]

For those that want to argue that testing works... you better hope to fucking god that a court doesn't order the release of data showing statistics on how many people the biz are infected with how many diseases.

But then again, that's your destiny anyway because you're too fucking dumb to not only understand the inherent risks in frivolous provocation in conflict but you seek it.

Your enemy owns you.

He's organized
He's motivated
He controls governments
He controls legislators
He has money
He has support
His forces are easily rallied against you and your "cause"

You?

You're just an insignificant 14yr old bully with daddy issues on a street corner trying to tell everyone that you should be able to do what you want, when you want, how you want and throwing up your fists as if you are capable of anything more than misguided bravado.

Your enemy loves that.

When your enemy looks at you, he sees ...

Your forces are fragmented and poorly organized
You're unintelligent
You're predictable
You're selfish and self centered
You're short sighted
You have a very poor concept of your own abilities, capabilities and limitations
You have a very poor concept of how the public percieves you
You're easily provoked
Once provoked, you can be relied on to mind numbingly dumb decisions
You're motivated by the wrong things, and for the wrong reasons
You will never have popular support
You are and always have been, your own worst enemy
You will always be a pimp preying on the weak and ruining lives

Your enemy owns you. He just hasn't made the conscious choice to kill you yet. It will come. It's inevitable. Once they fully grasp how weak and ineffectual you are, you'll be done.

All it takes is one person to lead that charge.

One day, it will happen.

One day, a girl will turn out to be a senators daughter and addict, be doing DP scenes and die on the set of an overdose and the entire industry will be finished. Thats all it will take. Thats how weak you are.

[TheSquealer]

Originally Posted by BlackCrayon

I can agree with most of that but it does nothing for public safety.

Lets assume that's true. That is still a losing argument. I can argue that i'm super safe on the job site and shouldn't have to wear steel toed boots, a fluorescent yellow safety vest and hard hat. Won't matter. Safety on the job site is still safety on the job site. Accidents will still happen and others will still be saying "see, i told you so".

[DWB]

Originally Posted by Nathan

Idiot. Note Money would have helped. We said so all along.

The guy who has everything to lose by Measure B just called the guy who has nothing to lose by Measure B an idiot. Classic.

You should take your own advice and build windmills.

[TheSquealer]

Originally Posted by BlackCrayon

they should of passed a law forcing ALL people to wear condoms during any kind of sexual activity if it was really about public safety and not just a way to tax and fine the adult industry.

You can't easily legislate what people can do in their own home. You can however, easily legislate what people can do on a job site.


Pretty basic stuff. Seems to apply everywhere - except people in the biz think it shouldn't apply to them.
http://www.lohp.org/docs/pubs/BBPBOOK.PDF

[DWB]

Originally Posted by TheSquealer

For those that want to argue that testing works... you better hope to fucking god that a court doesn't order the release of data showing statistics on how many people the biz are infected with how many diseases.

But then again, that's your destiny anyway because you're too fucking dumb to not only understand the inherent risks in frivolous provocation in conflict but you seek it.

Your enemy owns you.

He's organized
He's motivated
He controls governments
He controls legislators
He has money
He has support
His forces are easily rallied against you and your "cause"

You?

You're just an insignificant 14yr old bully with daddy issues on a street corner trying to tell everyone that you should be able to do what you want, when you want, how you want and throwing up your fists as if you are capable of anything more than misguided bravado.

Your enemy loves that.

When your enemy looks at you, he sees ...

Your forces are fragmented and poorly organized
You're unintelligent
You're predictable
You're selfish and self centered
You're short sighted
You have a very poor concept of your own abilities, capabilities and limitations
You have a very poor concept of how the public percieves you
You're easily provoked
Once provoked, you can be relied on to mind numbingly dumb decisions
You're motivated by the wrong things, and for the wrong reasons
You will never have popular support
You are and always have been, your own worst enemy
You will always be a pimp preying on the weak and ruining lives

Your enemy owns you. He just hasn't made the conscious choice to kill you yet. It will come. It's inevitable. Once they fully grasp how weak and ineffectual you are, you'll be done.

All it takes is one person to lead that charge.

One day, it will happen.

One day, a girl will turn out to be a senators daughter and addict, be doing DP scenes and die on the set of an overdose and the entire industry will be finished. Thats all it will take. Thats how weak you are.

You're on a roll today.

[Sophie Delancey]

The main issue I have here is just that the power is being taken out of the hands of the people who are actually in the porn. If you listen to most performers, they want the option to choose what works for them. Even people who are really into safer sex tend to understand that making decisions for others when you aren't in their shoes isn't the best strategy.

[notinmybackyard]

Originally Posted by TheSquealer

All it takes is one person to lead that charge.

One day, it will happen.

One day, a girl will turn out to be a senators daughter and addict, be doing DP scenes and die on the set of an overdose and the entire industry will be finished. Thats all it will take. Thats how weak you are.

Back in the early 1980s I was only engaged in talks with a gentlemen that wanted to invest some money in my films. But during this time the gouvernement buildings and their audio-visual equipement had been used by one of his friends to copy a porn film. (That is the official version of what happen)

End result was a huge political scandle and I could not breath because of law enforcement snooping around. I had done nothing but speak to the wrong person. Financially it remains the worst year I have ever had because producing anything was almost next to impossible.

So yes you are completly right.
It only takes meeting, talking or filming the wrong person and then it is game over. And that day is quickly coming.

[Penny24Seven]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Anyone who expected anything else was dreaming while on acid.

because if there is one thing Paul knows that is every fucking thing LOL

[TheSquealer]

Originally Posted by notinmybackyard

Back in the early 1980s I was only engaged in talks with a gentlemen that wanted to invest some money in my films. But during this time the gouvernement buildings and their audio-visual equipement had been used by one of his friends to copy a porn film. (That is the official version of what happen)

End result was a huge political scandle and I could not breath because of law enforcement snooping around. I had done nothing but speak to the wrong person. Financially it remains the worst year I have ever had because producing anything was almost next to impossible.

So yes you are completly right.
It only takes meeting, talking or filming the wrong person and then it is game over. And that day is quickly coming.

There were zero safety regulations in commercial fishing in Alaska... until a Congressman's kid drown when the FV St Patrick got into trouble and the guy running the boat told everyone to abandon ship.

Not that its a bad thing... but following that came a seriously huge list of safety regulations, required medical/first aid/safety training, required safety drills, Coast Guard inspections, required licenses, permits etc etc etc. mandated by the government.

Why was the federal government forced to pass all these laws for safety?

Because exactly like people in this biz, a group of selfish, uneducated and socially retarded idiots would not take any steps to save themselves otherwise and were perfectly content watching each other drown in easily avoidable accidents and chalking it all up to "bad luck" and "shit happens", "he knew the risks" and "it was a personal choice".