June 10, 2005 | Sex & Society

'Bound & Gagged' victim of 2257

For decades "Bound & Gagged" magazine has dedicated itself to serving the gay BDSM community. But with issue 106 the long lived publication will cease operations. Why? According to "B&G" publisher Bob Wingate, regulation 2257 under the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act will impose record-keeping and inspection requirements that will be impossible for the magazine - and many other adult companies - to comply with. Since contravening the regulations can result in fines and imprisonment, Wingate feels he has no choice but to go out of business before they become enforcible on June 23. 

"Bound & Gagged" has always operated on a small budget with Wingate more than once using  his personal funds to underwrite his labor of love. But the expense involved in complying with the new regs - which require specific types of proof of age documents to be kept on file - not just by the primary producers of adult content, but by secondary publishers as well - has proven to be the straw to break the back of "B&G".

It seems that the US federal government, after many failed strategies designed to "combat" porn, has found one that actually works. BoundandGagged.com is scheduled to go offline on June 22. All back issues are on sale for half price until June 22.

• "Bound and Gagged" bound and gagged? [fleshbot]
• "Bound and Gagged" discontinuing operations [BoundandGagged.com]