Hermosa Beach tattoo parlor ban ruled unconstitutional by appeals court

[alp227]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Tattoos and the art of tattooing are "forms of pure expression fully protected by the 1st Amendment," a federal appeals court said Thursday in ruling that a city of Hermosa Beach ban on tattoo parlors is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the city to allow tattooing in at least some of its areas zoned for business, saying a total ban was "facially unconstitutional."

The city was sued by Johnny Anderson, co-owner of Yer Cheat'n Heart Tattoo in Gardena, after he was repeatedly rebuffed by city officials in his attempts to open a parlor at a busy intersection of the coastal community. Hermosa Beach officials had refused to allow tattooing in the city on grounds that the "open wounds" created by embedding ink under the skin with a needle can lead to infection or disease if not done properly.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0910-tattoos-20100910,0,443633.story

[A HERETIC I AM]

1. As opposed to the "open wound" created by having to live in Gardena or Hermosa Beach. n/t

[denbot]

3. Um.. Hermosa Beach is a rocking cool city.

Have you ever been there?

[unkachuck]

2. I hate tattoos....

....but I will defend to the death your right to get one....

....besides, I always wanted to marry a girl that rode a Harley and had tattoos just like dear old Ma....

[customerserviceguy]

4. Same here

I consider tattoos and piercings to be some sort of self-mutilation, but I respect the rights of persons to own their own bodies and do whatever they want to with them.

[rocktivity]

5. CUE THE VONAGE THEME!

They tried to pull this in Hoboken New Jersey, too, back when the city was beginning to gentrify. The REAL problem, of course, is that they didn't want to attract the "kind" of people who would get tattoos.

Locals who don't want tattoo parlors around should get rid of them the all-American way--refuse to patronize them.

:woohoo:
rocktivity

[boppers]

6. If they're worried about health, *license* them.

Sheesh, this isn't complex.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[izquierdista]

8. Sleazy, ex-con, and drunken sailor

I guess I grew up in a time when Lydia was an oddity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4zRe_wvJw8

[proteus_lives]

9. What a silly ban to begin with.