City to Review Naughty Postcards

As if they don't have enough legal problems, brothers Larry and Jimmy Flynt could get some more. A lawyer for the city of Cincinnati is looking into whether postcards sold at Larry Flynt's bookstore could be considered obscene and a violation of city law. Flynt, publisher of Hustler, and his brother, Jimmy, store manager, have been charged with selling sexually explicit videos, including at least one to a 14-year-old boy. \n The cards began arriving earlier this month at the offices of Cincinnati city council members and Hamilton County judges. All are part of a series of cards called "Sincinnati, Ohio" and all have the same greeting: "Welcome to Cincinnati. Please leave your mind behind. We do your thinking for you. Thank you for your support of Larry Flynt and your First Amendment rights." \n It's the front of the unsigned cards that is perturbing city officials, though. The pictures on the cards feature Cincinnati landmarks that have been altered in a sexual manner. One card, for example, shows a nude woman atop the Fountain Square Fountain. Another shows male genitals superimposed on the city's skyline. \n Jimmy Flynt said his store has carried the cards for some time but denied he put them in the mail. However, he said he thought they were funny. \n "I think the cards pretty much speak for themselves and I would think whoever sent them had a constitutional right to do so," he told a reporter. "I just think most people enjoy poking fun at this city council." \n City council member Jeanette Cissel thought otherwise. She called the cards offensive and asked city lawyers to look at them for possible law violations. At her request, the city solicitor's office is doing just that. \n Larry and Jimmy Flynt have pleaded guilty to all 15 counts against them, including pandering obscenity, conspiracy, disseminating material harmful to juveniles and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. They are to be tried in January.