The New York Times in its reporting of the Larry Flynt decision quotes Prof. William Marshall, a Constitutional expert from Northwestern University.
"Flynt's point was that standards have changed in 20 years - now we'll not know," Marshall said. "If he still sees himself as somebody who's carrying the torch on the limits of obscenity and pornography, I think he lost."
According to the Times article, Cincinnati officials have announced plans to acquire the Flynt store and adjacent properties as "part of a development of a new arts center." The article says "if the owners are unwilling to sell, city officials have indicated that they will seek to invoke the powers of eminent domain."
A Cincinnat Enquirer adds a bit more detail on that separate issue. According to the Enquirer story, city councilman Charles Winburn said he'll lead the fight to keep the city from having to pay $20,000 for the relocation of Flynt's downtown Hustler store.
"My position is I want Flynt to go," Winburn said. "I don't think we're obligated to pay him."
According to the Enquirer, the Hustler store is one of at least five businesses that will have to move from Sixth Street to make way for the new Contemporary Arts Center. Construction is scheduled to begin late this year. The city is required to pay up to $20,000 in relocation fees when it buys property for public improvements.
The city has also filed charges claiming the Hustler store is in violation of local sexually oriented business laws because it does not have a license. The case is pending.
"What the city lawyers have told me is that they're two separate issues," Winburn said of the obscenity trial and the licensing flap.
If court decides the Hustler store is operating without a proper license, then the city has no obligation for its relocation expenses, Winburn said.
The Cincinnati Enquirer also took an informal poll of stores carrying adult video and found many alive and well - outside of Hamilton County where Larry Flynt was prosecuted
According to the Enquirer, VIP Video Sales, run by Barbi Tomaino and her husband, is scheduled for its own case of pandering obscenity in July when the trial is scheduled
Says the Enquirer: "Mrs. Tomaino and Mr. Flynt share the same lawyer but not the same style. Mrs. Tomaino sees herself as a down-to-earth mother of two boys who wants to protect them from material meant for adults. Barbi Tomaino had hoped the Flynt case would go to trial. She wanted it to bring up the topic of "what is obscene," because that's not what she considers the pornography in her store.
"I'm not ashamed. I'm not embarrassed. I think the product is delightful. It's not for everybody," Tomaino said.
Kathy Fondacaro, director of communications for the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families, a nonprofit group in Springfield Township, says her organization is out to protect the "everybodys" who want pornography pushed out of the Tristate. Even without the videos, Fondacaro still considers the Hustler store dangerous.
"The ripple effect we may see with Larry Flynt sticking around is we may see more pornographers targeting Cincinnati," Fondacaro said. "If Larry Flynt can come in and keep his shop open, it makes it safe." Anti-porn crusaders say the Flynt case was about more than a store or a dirty video. Fondacaro had hoped the county would be forced to decide its community standards.
Fountain News, a newsstand near the Hustler store, said the Flynt agreement with prosecutors would not sway it to start selling the magazine.
"We don't think it would be such a good idea to sell such a bad magazine," store employee Hiral Patel said. Hustler sales are brisk in Cleves at a small drive-through called Wayne's World. "They're impossible to keep in stock," store owner Wayne Fideli said.
\nFree Speech Coalition's Gloria Leonard was interviewed by Court TV on two separate occasions, once in a debate against Phil Burress, the president of the Citizens for Community Values in Cincinnati prior to Flynt's plea; the other a discussion with Jimmy Flynt's attorney, Paul Cambria over the plea.
Leonard: "I didn't get to have a whole lot to say yesterday [Wednesday] because they were jumping back and forth from locations. Then they asked me to be on again Wednesday night, but they canceled. I guess they thought I had too much air time in 24 hours. I was supposed to be on with Al Goldstein.
"What do you make of this whole thing with him [Flynt] copping a plea? It was like a Russian novel with this brother-thing going on. According to what I heard, Larry didn't want Jimmy to go to jail. I think thios is going to soften Larry's public persona. He won't be known as that belligerent, or combatitive in these situations. It's a matter of expediency. You're over 50. You get tired of this shit after while. The fact that they won't be able to sell video anymore is really a concession. I don't think we've heard the last of this."
[We'll be running those Leonard interviews as soon as possible.]
