![]() I mean, it was clearly a satire,” Flynt said during an appearance with Falwell on CNN in 1997, the day “The People v. “In an outhouse, and he had to kick the goat out first. The highlight of his First Amendment resume came when televangelist Jerry Falwell sued Hustler for libel, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress after the magazine ran a parody about Falwell losing his virginity to his mother. I’ve had to live and breathe it all the time.”Īnother obscenity charge in Georgia in 1978 was dismissed after a White supremacist, incensed over a Hustler photo spread featuring a Black man and White woman, shot Flynt, paralyzing him and landing him in the gold-plated wheelchair that became a trademark of his media appearances. ![]() … Today, I can walk into any courtroom in the country with any lawyer and chances are, I’ll know more about First Amendment law than they do. Speaking to the Chicago Tribune in 1996, Flynt said his original goal in life was to make money and have fun, “but when the judge sentenced me to (seven to) 25 years in prison, I couldn’t take the First Amendment for granted anymore. A case in Cincinnati saw him briefly jailed in 1977 before his sentence was overturned on appeal. Many are familiar with Flynt’s legal battles over obscenity. In the early 2000s, Flynt estimated he had spent about $60 million fighting for the First Amendment, the professor said. Whereas most people associate Flynt with his peddling busty women and blue jokes, Richards will remember him as a First Amendment lion. ‘Taste is not your strong suit, right, Larry?’ Flynt, he knew, would relish the opportunity. Richards assured his colleagues there would be a question-and-answer session and urged them to engage the publisher, to challenge his ideas. You have to tolerate the Larry Flynts of this world.” That’s the message Flynt sought to deliver when he told The Seattle Times in 1996: “My position is that you pay a price to live in a free society, and that price is toleration of some things you don’t like. The majority takes care of itself in terms of popularity and popular viewpoints,” he said. ![]() “You don’t need a First Amendment to protect the popular viewpoints. It’s the essence of the First Amendment, the professor said, explaining ideas like Flynt’s require the most protection. Such marketplaces ensure the best notions rise to the surface. We were bringing Larry to campus to talk about his First Amendment contributions, which were legion,” Richards said.Ĭolleges and universities are the grounds to test ideas, he said. “Obviously, we were not bringing Larry to campus to talk about pornography. Blowback was like oxygen for him, and he never relented in championing the American values of free press, speech and expression.įlynt takes an oath during his 1978 obscenity trial in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He assured them Flynt was not coming to campus to promote his flagship Hustler magazine or any other skin rag.įlynt, who died this week at 78, was unfazed, as always, Richards told CNN. ![]() A state legislator had joined in stoking the outrage, even threatening the university’s funding over the Flynt visit and other campus events he found unseemly.Īn associate dean in the college of communications at the time, Richards found himself fielding complaints from angry faculty, which he didn’t understand. A religious group had sent its flock the email address for the college of communication’s dean. He found the backlash jarring.Ī conservative radio host in Philadelphia had shared the university president’s contacts, encouraging listeners to bombard Penn State’s leadership. Through the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment at Penn State, which Richards founded, the professor wanted to bring Flynt to speak to students and faculty. It was October 2001, not exactly the heyday of publisher Larry Flynt’s many controversies, and professor Robert Richards couldn’t understand what the fuss was about.
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