WE NEED TO BAN HIGH-CAPACITY DEADLY ASSAULT TATTOOS!
AND COP-KILLER TATTOOS!
AND CONCEALABLE "SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL" TATTOOS!
Posted on 09/09/2013 4:34:30 AM PDT by markomalley
Feeling an urge to get some body art in D.C.? You may soon have an extra day to mull it over.
A set of regulations for tattoo artists and body piercers unveiled today would mandate a 24-hour wait between when a customer requests a tattoo or piercing and when they can actually get it.
"The licensee or operator of a body art establishment shall ensure that no tattoo artist applies any tattoo to a customer until after twenty-four (24) hours have passed since the customer first requested the tattoo," state the regulations, with similar wording for body piercings. The regulations would also prohibit artists from binding a customer to committing to getting a tattoo or piercing.
Should it be implemented, D.C. would be one of the few places in the country that imposes a waiting period on tattooing and piercing. While spokeswoman Najma Roberts says the Department of Health followed a model in Wisconsin, D.C.-based tattoo artist Paul Roe calls the proposed 24-hour wait "ridiculous."
"That's a classic case of a cosmetologist saying, 'Shouldn't those people think about their decision?"", he says.
Under the proposed regulations, operators and artists would be licensed and regulated by the D.C. Board of Barber and Cosmetology, which has participated in the writing of the rules. Roe says that he's vying for an open seat on the board so as to represent the interests of tattoo artists and body piercers.
Tattooing and piercing remained unregulated in D.C. until mid-2012, when the D.C. Council passed legislation mandating that tattoo artists and body piercers be licensed. (Watch part of the hearing here.)
The 65 pages of regulations would prohibit tattooing of anyone under the age of 18, require that operators and artists be licensed and outline exactly what type of equipment they can use and how it should be maintained. It would also prohibit tattooing or piercing of anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a policy many shops say they already follow.
For Roe, the age restriction is less troubling than the waiting period. Calling tattooing a "rite of passage," Roe says codifying a minimum age is good policy. "In order to protect the child, a minimum required age of 18 is absolutely required," he says.
Both Virginia and Maryland regulate tattooing and piercing, though neither imposes a 24-hour waiting period and both allow minors with parental permission to be tattooed.
Roe, who otherwise supports regulating tattoo artists and body piercers, worries that the proposed rules may go too far.
"Over-regulation is the killer of any profession," he says.
UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: Fox 5's Matt Ackland tweeted a fuller explanation from the Department of Health for the waiting period: "Health Department says the new proposed regulation will stop impulse tattoos. Says some regret getting tattoos the next day."
UPDATE, 5 p.m.: A few other small towns have enacted waiting periods, including Greenwich, NJ, where someone wanting a tattoo has to wait 48 hours.
(not that I am a fan of tattoos...but I don't need a law to tell me think very carefully before getting one...no matter how drunk I get)
But want an abortion? Sign here and get in line.
Glad the crime problem in DC is solved so that they can tackle regretted tattooes.
WE NEED TO BAN HIGH-CAPACITY DEADLY ASSAULT TATTOOS!
AND COP-KILLER TATTOOS!
AND CONCEALABLE "SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL" TATTOOS!
You beat me to it. We are becoming a nanny state real fast.
Tattoos And Piercings.. nose rings...Yuck...
Why do they do that to their bodies???
It’s so UGLY.
Exactly. I personally think waiting 24 hrs (at least) is a very good idea. But what business of it is the state? Ridiculous.
What happened to being personally responsible for one’s actions...why do we need more regulation???
It’s like we are on the verge of THX 1138
Let these damned fools mutilate themselves. Helps thin out the competition for a lot of jobs. And a lot of these dumbass kids wonder why they are having a hard time finding decent employment. Gee, maybe the tattoos covering both arms and your neck and the hoops inside your earlobes don’t scream about your ability to make rational decisions.
Coming next crapping only on even days.
Who cares?
It is their body, not yours.
Yeah, but they don’t have to look at it.
The rest of us are the ones who have to deal with their poor choices in self-decoration.
(That said: that doesn’t make it right for DC to regulate it. If you’re over the age of consent, knock yourself out. Show the world you’re an idiot by getting a tattoo).
LOL. This is nanny state but its probably not a bad idea. As Jimmy Buffett said, a tattoo is a “permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.” Its good to wait to see if you really want it.
Yes. A great idea from DC. Go figure. There should. Also be a sobriety test. The tattoo culture is just sickening.
Another gov’t job, TCO...Tattoo Compliance Officer.
Show the world you’re an idiot by getting a tattoo.
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I consider getting a tatto only slightly less crazy than cutting off your own appendages.
How about prevention of welfare recipients from getting tattoos.
No problem, 24, 48, 72... hours later they will still be stupid!
Who cares?
Millions of people care about how people look, dress, speak, smell, behave...
Women with tats might be an antidote to Viagra or Cialis.
Nothing says class like a Tramp Stamp!
I guess when some people are happy being in the swirling water of the “flushed toilet of civilization”, mutilating their body comes naturally.
And yes, it is their body and yes I reserve the right to think negatively about their stupid life choices.
Yeah but they’re not invisible...I still have to look at them! Gross!
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