Tattooing remains needling problem for Oklahoma lawmakers

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Tattoo artist Waylon Rogers stood next to his needles and ink at Big Daddy's Tattoo Parlor in south Oklahoma City and pondered Oklahoma's status as the only state in the nation

Sunday, March 27th 2005, 4:51 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Tattoo artist Waylon Rogers stood next to his needles and ink at Big Daddy's Tattoo Parlor in south Oklahoma City and pondered Oklahoma's status as the only state in the nation that outlaws his art.

``I think it's bull,'' Rogers said as he crossed his arms _ arms flecked with colorful tattoos in the shapes of fanciful rings, loops and geometric figures that resembled the scrollwork of ornamental furniture.

``We're the only state _ think about it!''

Legislation that would lift Oklahoma's decades-old tattoo taboo has cleared the state Senate and is pending in the House, where a similar bill died earlier this month when Republican leaders refused to give it a hearing.

Similar measures have languished in legislative committees in recent years due to opposition from lawmakers on moral grounds. Opponents also expressed concern that tattooing could spread diseases like hepatitis and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Lawmakers are taking up the needling issue again amid a cultural boom in the popularity of tattoos and legal uncertainty about Oklahoma's prohibition in which professional tattoo salons, including Big Daddy's, operate in the open and advertise their services.

``It's become a form of expression,'' said Brandon Mull of Just Another Hole in Broken Arrow, which runs radio ads for tattooing services.

``It's an art form,'' said David Bennett of Bennett's Tattooing and Body Piercing Parlor in Sapulpa, which also advertises. ``It's art. It's a living canvas. It moves. It changes with age.''

Many states outlawed tattooing in the 1960s. Oklahoma, where tattooing has been illegal since 1963, is the only state to continue the ban.

But Oklahoma's law was rendered largely ineffective last year when charges of illegal tattooing in Tulsa County were dismissed against two tattoo artists, including Mull, on April 12.

State law defines a tattoo as ``a permanent indelible mark'' created by a needle that is visible on the skin. Mull said he convinced Special District Judge Darlene Crutchfield that tattoos can be removed through laser surgery and other techniques, and are not permanent.

``Since then, law enforcement has basically left everybody alone,'' Mull said.

Tattoo artists gained a new ally this year when the state Department of Health expressed support for a system of regulatory control over tattooing to prevent the spread of disease as the popularity of body art grows.

``It's just a fact of modern culture,'' said Dr. Mike Crutcher, Oklahoma's health commissioner. ``To me, it's a health risk. I'm not promoting tattooing. I'm promoting health.''

Between 2000 and 2003, the state experienced a 78 percent increase in new hepatitis C infections and 96 percent developed lifelong infections, according to the Health Department.

Thirty-four percent of those infected reported that they had a tattoo.

``That's a pretty large population to serve as a reservoir to transmit hepatitis C through tattooing,'' said Sara Russell, an epidemiologist in the Health Department's acute disease section.

A preliminary investigation into an outbreak of hepatitis B in LeFlore County last year revealed a potential link to unsanitary home tattooing practices. And officials in Atoka County reported antibiotic-resistant skin infections in four patients with recent nonprofessional tattoos.

``We feel like this is one possible mode of transmission,'' said Ted Evans, chief of consumer health services for the Health Department.

Evans said the need to regulate tattoo artists and parlors intensified with the growing number of artists and people getting tattoos.

``There's kids doing it. There's doctors' wives doing it. There's college professors doing it,'' Evans said. ``It's an activity that is very prevalent in our society today. Hundreds of artists are doing it.''

Bennett said tattoos of praying hands and rosaries as well as crosses and other religious symbols are common requests in his shop.

``More people are showing their faith and religion in artwork right now,'' Bennett said.

``We all know it is happening,'' said Sen. Frank Shurden, D-Henryetta, author of the bill that would authorize tattoo parlors and impose regulations to promote public health and safety.

``This simply acknowledges the fact that this is happening and that we need to regulate it,'' Shurden said.

The legislation is similar to existing rules concerning body piercing. It calls for tattoo parlors to be regulated by the Health Department, which would impose licenses and fees that would cover the cost of inspections.

The bill makes it illegal for anyone to apply a tattoo or perform body piercing services to someone under 18. The language does not apply to ear piercing.

Evans said the rules are similar to existing laws in Missouri, which has about 250 licensed tattoo parlors, and Kansas, which has fewer than 100.

Meanwhile, professional tattoo artists said they are regulating themselves as they wait for the state to take action, adopting many of the health and safety guidelines the proposed legislation would mandate.

``I can't fathom why someone wouldn't want something regulated that can make you sick,'' Mull said. ``It's a question of health. It's for public safety.''