Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Madison: Ban Tattoo Parlors


The big three: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. In Madison, if you point out that smoking cigarettes falls under pursuit of happiness you get bombarded by the Health Uber alles Jihadists. The maintenance of health is priority number one in Capital City. It is the Mayor’s stated goal and grand vision for his model city. This has me wondering that since smoking is a bad choice made by youth, are there other bad body choices that may one day require medical intervention. Then this story popped up in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Blasted Tattoo! "When I got the tattoo done it felt like 1,000 needles going into my arm," said Drye. "The laser felt like that - but doubled. It's burning the tattoo out of your body, so you certainly do feel it."

"It used to be that if some guy went out and got a huge tattoo ... on his arm it would require a major surgical procedure," said Dr. John Hamacher, a plastic surgeon specializing in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery in Madison. "All old methods of removal resulted in a high percentage of scarring, but with new laser technology we can remove a tattoo with, at most, minor scarring or shadowing."

Of course! There is no medical necessity to damage the largest organ of the human body, and repairing the damage later in life can be painful and expensive. If Madison successfully creates Municipal Level Universal Healthcare, it will have to pick up the expenses for tattoo removal. To avoid future expense, Madison needs to define tattoos as a healthcare issue and pass laws to discourage people from engaging in this behavior.

It is time to BAN Tattoo Parlors in Madison. I’m sure a phone poll could prove that 85% of residents don’t go get inked and majority always rules. If the parlor owners don’t like the BAN, well to bad. If you can’t make a living without stabbing people with needles, you suck! (Unless you are a Nurse or Lab Tech in which case you rock!) Existing Parlors should change their business into something that does not depend on damaging the health of individuals, or they should go out of business. Can I count on your support Mayor Dave?