Penthouse and Hustler magazines broke the penetration barrier in their December issues, showing photos of men and women engaging in the act. That, in turn, attracted attention from law enforcement authorities in Oklahoma and raised fears of arrest from retailers in Utah. \n The two magazines decided independently about a year ago to liberalize their editorial policies on penetration. Both say any controversy over the change likely will die down soon. \n In Tulsa, Okla., two bookstore clerks were charged with obscenity for selling Penthouse to undercover officers. At the time, the officers seized copies of Penthouse, Hustler and some videos.
Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, announced he will pay legal costs for the arrested clerks.
The arrests made Utah retailers skittish. Most either pulled their copies of the magazine or placed opaque, adhesive tape strips over the potentially offending photos. The Utah business owners said they were trying to keep things low-key so as not to attract the attention of state authorities. \n A Penthouse spokeswoman said the Oklahoma arrests were isolated incidents and that she believed the magazines would be in store sales racks throughout the state soon. She noted the December issue also contained a story critical of special prosecutor Kenneth Starr and had been widely circulated throughout the White House. The magazine is not obscene, she said. \n A Salt Lake City lawyer who represents Penthouse agreed the magazine will soon be back in all the regular locations. "What usually happens if an issue of the magazine gets in trouble someplace, everybody else pulls it off the stands to wait and see what's going to happen," Jerome Mooney told a local reporter. \n He said the move across the line to show sexual penetration was inspired, in part, by the growing tolerance and new sexual standards created by the widespread availability of sexual materials on the Internet.
