(Published May 6‚ 2004)
State lawmakers should consider that South Carolinians will continue to get tattooed whether the state passes a tattoo bill or not. But if lawmakers want sensible regulations governing tattoos, they have to get together and pass a bill.
South Carolina and Oklahoma are the only states in the nation that still ban tattooing, and South Carolina lawmakers have been trying off and on for more than a decade to pass a bill ending the state's ban. But each year the effort hits a snag, and this year is no exception.
Sen. Bill Mescher thought it might be different this year. He sponsored a bill that won approval in the Senate, while House members passed a bill of their own.
But then the legislation arrived in conference committee. The committee agreed that tattoo artists should use disposable tools. And both House and Senate members agreed that training and regulations were necessary for anyone wielding a tattoo needle.
But Mescher threatened to abandon the bill he sponsored if it included an amendment giving broad powers to local governments to regulate tattoos, including banning them. He and others on the committee also took issue with a House requirement that anyone ages 18 to 21 must get their parents' permission before getting a tattoo.
Mescher noted that a soldier that age returning from war "shouldn't have to get his mommy to write a note" so he can get a tattoo.
The senator has a point. If 18-year-olds can go to war, vote and sign a binding contract, they ought to be able to decide whether to get a tattoo.
We don't however, object to local control over tattoo parlors. We can understand why some communities would want to bar tattoo parlors or at least restrict where they could be located. And it shouldn't be too much trouble to drive to the next county to get your tattoo.
These differences, we think, are surmountable. The important goal is to establish regulations that help ensure the health and hygiene of tattooing.
Recent reports note a rise in so-called "poke and stick" parties, where friends create makeshift tattoos on each other with a needle and ink. Health experts fear that this and other back-door tattooing exposes young people to possible infections, blood-borne diseases and nerve damage. And we would guess that few, if any, of those going to poke-and-stick get-togethers get permission from their parents first.
The state needs to enact legislation to ensure that people can get a tattoo in a safe, clean setting so they don't have to resort to do-it-yourself tattoos.
A tattoo bill would prevent those under the influence of drugs or alcohol from getting a tattoo. It would prevent tattooists from reusing sterilized needles. It would require tattooists to be certified in CPR and blood-borne pathology, and have Red Cross certification. And the state Department of Health and Environmental Control would regulate tattooing and could revoke licenses for violations.
Failure to pass a tattoo bill may be due, in part, to many lawmakers' personal aversion to tattoos. But personal taste aside, many South Carolinians like tattoos and, as is plain to see, they find ways -- legal and illegal -- to get them.
Lawmakers ought to acknowledge reality and provide a legal avenue for people to get a tattoo if they want one.
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State needs to regulate tattooing to ensure that it is safe, hygienic and legal. |
| Copyright © 2004 The Herald, South Carolina |
