Proposed Bill Would Ban Certain Tattoos, Body Art Procedures
By: KARK 4 News
Updated: March 4, 2013
An Arkansas Senator is pushing for a ban on non-traditional body art and skin implants.
The Senate Health Committee has passed Senator Missy Irvin's bill to limit body art procedures, particularly scarification and dermal implants.
Scarification is a procedures involving the scarring of the skin using heat to form a tattoo without ink, and implants are placing ornaments under the skin.
A tattoo artist in Rose City says scarification and implants should be regulated, but not banned.
"I just think it's difficult to tell someone what they can and cannot do with their body," says Scott Diffee, from The Parlor. "Making it outlawed is what it's gonna do is make it go underground, where people are going to try and do this stuff at home, where it's not regulated, where it's not sanctioned."
Diffee says Arkansas has the stiffest regulations on tattooing and body piercing.
The Senate Health Committee has passed Senator Missy Irvin's bill to limit body art procedures, particularly scarification and dermal implants.
Scarification is a procedures involving the scarring of the skin using heat to form a tattoo without ink, and implants are placing ornaments under the skin.
A tattoo artist in Rose City says scarification and implants should be regulated, but not banned.
"I just think it's difficult to tell someone what they can and cannot do with their body," says Scott Diffee, from The Parlor. "Making it outlawed is what it's gonna do is make it go underground, where people are going to try and do this stuff at home, where it's not regulated, where it's not sanctioned."
Diffee says Arkansas has the stiffest regulations on tattooing and body piercing.
Comments
I am a professional body piercer and the misconceptions being put out by the press are more harmful to my business than the actual bill is. I have read the bill and I have determined that the microdermal anchors that I perform are NOT being banned by this bill. This bill seeks to ban the subsurface implants where an incision is made with a scalpel and shaped forms are inserted under the skin as well as scarification where the skin is injured by "scratching, etching, or cutting of designs to produce a scar on a human being for ornamentation or decoration". The bill clearly describes all three procedures and only seeks to ban the subsurface implants and scarification. I have been fielding questions from upset customers ever since this story came out and if it is not clarified by the news media then it is going to have a negative impact on my business as well as anyone else who does the microdermal anchors because of the false information being presented to the public. I ask KARK to do some research and update this article to correct the misconceptions it has created.
Michael B.
March 8, 2013 at 7:19 pm
I believe that we have been hoodwinked, at election time we were made to believe that Arkansas was a progressive state. With movements like the marijuana proposal - issue 5 and the casino proposal - issue 3 and 4. In reality with our vote we have put into power, people who focus on restricting what we do to our bodies. They have no right to do that. They are attacking our basic liberty's We have seen protesting before for no reason. How can we not protest this attack on our freedom in the same way and stop them from intruding on our peaceful way of life. Write your Senator let them know how you feel.
seth s.
March 4, 2013 at 8:41 pm
I believe that we have a Republican-dominated Legislature. I believe that Republicans ran on a platform of LESS government intrusion into private matters. I now believe that with this, the abortion bills, themass data banks of driver information, and many other bills in the works,we may have stumbled over the REAL agenda... total governmental control.
Peter D.
March 4, 2013 at 6:39 pm
