MY FIGHT TO LEGALIZE TATTOOING IN SOUTH CAROLINA

At A Glance Author RON WHITE Contact [email protected] Artist Elio Studio Enoks Location Myrtle Beach,SC

My name is Ron White.I am a tattooer with 10 yrs experience.I have been fighting for the legalization of tattooing in South Carolina for several years. Our state is now one of only 2 in the country where the medium remains illegal!I finally grew tired of legislative efforts to reform our archaic tattoo law failing time after time and took our plight to the public!

In 97, I did a piece live on the air at a local rock station,The BUZZ,100.5 and appeared on television programs as well,in protest of our tat law.This resulted in my arrest. I became the only person to ever be charged with the "crime"of tattoing in SC!We have yet to find any documented case of this happening anywhere else in the U.S. I was later convicted and sentenced to 5 yrs probation and fined 2000 dollars!The judge denied our motions on the constitutionality of the states ban,even though in Mass.,a superior court rulling lifted the state's ban on tattoing on the grounds that tattoing is a protected form of art under the first ammendment.My case is now going to the S.C. SUPREME COURT. I have devoted yrs of my life fighting for our artistic freedoms at great personal cost! My story can be further explored in Outlaw Biker TATTOO REVIEW, issue 78, and also in issue 90 due out in feb. 2001! Please check them out. We live in a day and age where tattooing,piercing,and other forms of body modifications are becoming better accepted,or rather,perhaps more mainstream internationally. In my oppinion,legality of these forms of expression should not be in question. Instead our only true concern should be of safety. People wishing to be tattooed in the states of S.C. and Oklahoma should be able to do so with the services of a licenced professional,rather than be forced to go out of state or to someone in the state who doesnt have to answer to any regulated standards. This oppinion was also echoed by Massachussets superior court justice Barbara Rouse who ruled in the Lanphere case that the state's ban had created an underground industry that proposed a greater risk to public safety concerns.

I love tattoos with a passion, and i am proud of my fight! However, I have to admit at times I wonder why i've devoted all these hours,all my finances for legal fees, when not one other S.C. based artist has come forward to help in this battle! Not a single one,though in Myrtle Beach alone more than a dozen businesses are allready sporting TATTOO signs, ready to jump on the kill and open up shop! I'm telling you it really makes me sick. Fricken leaches!

Fortunately I am still not alone in this fight.I must mention state rep.William Mesher of Berkley Co.,who is the sponcer of all of our tattoo bills that have been introduced. He also has devoted countless hours of work to our cause, believing that tattooing is an allready establised entity in our state. He belives that any adult should be able to recieve a safe tattoo in our state, if that's what he or she wishes to do. Freedom of expression is a beautiful thing.

Another person I must mention is my friend John Black. He is a competant tattooer and a knowledgeable advocate for safety in the tattoo industry. Originally from Charleston,S.C. John owns and operates Lady Luck Tattoos in Ludowisee GA. He sits on the board of directors in the A.P.T.[The alliance of professional tattoists]. The A.P.T. is probably the largest educational body in our industry for safety,sponcering seminars internationally for artists to attend. In fact, all Professional Members of the A.P.T. must continually attend these seminars to maintain their membership in this organization.[this is a good thing to look for in a tattoo shop,safety in mind] At any rate, John and his wife Susan Would like to return with their familly to Charleston and open up shop in their home town. They also have been a big help in the tattoo war. I respect and love them very much.

I hope with all my heart that this story reaches the ears of any and all that would concider joining our cause! I feel it is an important one with the potential to better our culture in many ways. I for one am proud of my tattoos and piercings, and will continue to fight in any way possible to promote our scene!

If I can offer a little advice, "When considering being tattooed or pierced, Ask lots of questions. Be sure you get all of the answers. If you don't, go somewhere else!"

LEGALIZE TATTOOING IN SOUTH CAROLINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!