Del City v. tattoo parlors

First, the city said the tattoo shop is too close to a school. Then , the city said the parlor's sign is too large. Then, the city made an 8pm curfew for the shop. Round 1.

Phil Calfy, who owns the tattoo business Skin Ritual in Del City, OK, said that city is trying to run him out of town.

Skin Ritual is not the first tattoo shop to feel the wrath of Del City. Two other places closed their doors because they didn't have surety bonds. The state made it a requirement for legalization. The Legislature may lessen the requirement to a liability bond this year.

Of those who don't know, the state of Oklahoma was the only state that made tattooing illegal, until the bill passed in the legislature and signed by the governor last year. But some mayors and councilpersons can't take the change.

In a free society, it treats tattoo parlors as any other business. If a customer wants to have a tattoo, that customer have the right to feel free to choose any parlor he wants. And that parlor has a right to accept or refuse the customer's money for the parlor's service. That is called a unhampered free market.

Some people will say tattooing is a sin. Now, I am a Christian, and I believe that those people are right (Leviticus 19:28). But God doesn't look down on anyone who has a tattoo. Our Lord is a God of love, not a god of spite. And a Christian means literally "like Christ", and thus, we don't criticize a person for having a tattoo either. Do you remember Matthew 7:1?

But Del City doesn't see it that way. It has a bias about tattoo shops. It will let Christie's Toy Box and Fantasy's adult dance club (i.e., stripper bar) stay open until late, but not Skin Ritual. It has to close at 8:00.

I wish the lawyers for Skin Ritual will win the lawsuit. The 8pm curfew for the business was passed in an emergency session without some city officials knowing about it. His attorney said cities can't pass laws more restrictive than the state. I hope she has a case. Del City should mind its own business and let all kinds of businesses be free to operate unmolested. Del City will be better off for it.