In South Carolina, where tattooing was not legalized until 2004, tattoo shops face some of the strictest regulations in the country. Now, a tattoo business is suing the state’s health director and attorney general, claiming two of the state’s laws violate the First and 14th Amendments.
Under state law, the South Carolina Health Department does not grant or issue licenses to tattoo facilities within 1,000 feet of churches, schools, or playgrounds. The state also prohibits tattoo artists from giving face, neck, and head tattoos. Tattooing these areas is considered a misdemeanor, and anyone who violates this rule may be fined, sentenced to a year in prison, or both.
In a lawsuit filed Friday, the New York City-based company Tiny Zaps, which offers small, artist-designed micro tattoos, argues that these restrictions present unconstitutional hurdles to opening and operating a pop-up business in a hotel located in Charleston’s historic district. Tiny Zaps claims the state’s 1,000-foot rule makes its application for a tattoo facility license “futile” given the number of churches within proximity to the hotel. The business also claims the state’s above-the-shoulders tattoo rule “runs counter to Tiny Zaps’s artistic vision of tattooing as a customer-driven experience that allows people to express themselves.” The company is seeking an injunction to stop the state from enforcing these laws…