Idaho body artists praise age limits

Sometimes, when you’re young and you want something, you’ll go to extraordinary lengths to get it.

For Barbara Griffith, it was a belly button piercing. At 17, she had gotten her ears pierced only the year before, and she knew her parents’ strong religious beliefs would stifle any chance she had at getting them to approve a navel piercing.

Because Coeur d’Alene shops wouldn’t pierce her – many had self-imposed restrictions that required parental consent for those 17 and younger – she went across the border to Spokane, where parlors are less stringent.

“It’s just something I wanted, just for the look of it, I guess,” said Griffith, now 22.

Today, any Idaho minor looking to get pierced without parental consent may have to head west.

Under legislation that went into effect July 1, it is a misdemeanor to pierce or tattoo minors younger than 14, and body artists must receive parental consent before “tatting” or piercing children ages 14 to 17. Those who fail to obey the law can be fined as much as $500, and a second offense in a year could warrant up to a $1,000 citation. Earlobe piercings are the only exceptions to the rule.

The Idaho Legislature overwhelmingly passed the bill earlier this year, but those who disapprove say the government has overstepped its boundaries. The piercing and tattoo business, however, supports the move, saying it’s about time the state starts enforcing age minimums, something they’ve self-regulated for years.

State laws vary

The new state law is the product of Sen. Denton Darrington, an 11-term Republican from Delco. Darrington said his goal is to help establish health and regulatory standards within parlors – something the parlors are calling for – and this bill is the first step of the process.

Except for one nasty letter from a teenager in central Idaho, Darrington said he’s heard only positive comments about the law.

“Young people do not have the rights of people at majority age,” he said, noting that youths must wait to drive a car or boat.

Washington doesn’t have an age restriction on piercings, but state law requires that a person must be 18 to receive a tattoo. Oregon requires parental consent on piercings for those 17 and younger, and a person must be 18 to receive a tattoo. In Montana, parental consent is needed for a tattoo until age 18.

Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, who carried the bill from the Senate to the House, said it began as an attempt to set health standards. That would have created information for consumers to better understand which parlors were up to code, lessening the risk of diseases that can be transmitted through the piercing of skin, such as hepatitis or HIV. But, he acknowledges, that didn’t happen.

“That was a lukewarm bill that went through,” he said.

The legislation is helpful, though, because it ensures parental oversight to help children make the right choice, he said. Just as important, it prohibits youths from altering their body while they are still growing.

“I’d say a 13-year-old is too damn young,” he said, in answer to what he’d tell someone who disagrees with the law. “Wait one more year and get Mom’s consent.”

Legislating behavior

Idaho state Sen. Marti Calabretta, D-Osburn, was one of two senators out of 35 to vote against the legislation. Calabretta said she didn’t endorse it because it’s frivolous for government to get involved in a family issue.

“Children should be under the influence of their parents,” she said. “If they are not, there isn’t sufficient reason for the government to become their parents.”

She acknowledged that the bill could help children make wiser decisions, but she said it amounts to government-imposed moral control. Calabretta said lawmakers might be under the impression that if the government is able to stifle the personal expression of teens, it may also be able to quell inappropriate behavior.

“I don’t see the danger to society. I don’t see that the bill is needed to control behavior. I don’t think the bill will control behavior,” she said.

Rep. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, said he remembers the bill being pitched on the House floor with a social tone to it. Of the 70 members in the House, Bayer was one of six to vote against the bill. He recalls someone speaking about the legislation, talking about the nuisance created by a teenager with enough piercings to set off a metal detector at the airport.

Bayer contends it’s inappropriate to take away the rights of parents who may think their child is old enough for a piercing or tattoo. He also said the 14-year-old age restriction is arbitrary.

“There’s no scientific premise for that, whatsoever,” he said.

North Idaho’s Jodi Atwood, a mother of four boys, recently allowed her oldest, 16-year-old Shiloe Schuttey, to get his lip pierced. A year earlier, Atwood approved an eyebrow ring.

“He’s still a minor,” she said. “There needs to be some parental control on what he can do or what he can pierce, or tattoo for that matter. But I think it should be up to the parents and not the government.”

Coeur d’Alene resident Danielle Valois began getting tattoos two years ago, when she was 16. Valois now has three, and she spent time this week shopping for a fourth at Dan’s Tattoo Shop in Hayden. Her parents approve.

“I just thought (tattoos) were cool,” she said.

Valois said she thinks the law is a good idea, as did her friend Shasta Barnes, 18, who is considering a tattoo.

“They grow up and they’re like, ‘What did I do?’ ” Barnes said.

‘It’s in the culture’

Jill, a piercer at Rings of Fire in Spokane who wouldn’t give her last name, said kids are going to get pierced one way or another. Because of the new law, Idaho kids will probably do it themselves or head to Washington, she said.

“We’d prefer for someone to be pierced in a sterile environment, which is why we’re so lenient on some of the minor piercings,” she said.

Most parlors have a set of paperwork customers must sign, informing them about the procedure and how to clean the piercing or tattoo. Rings of Fire lets artists make a judgment call about whether a person is old enough to get a particular type of piercing. Usually, a customer who is 16 can get piercings through the navel, ears and nose, Jill said. Customers must usually be 17 to have their tongue pierced, and 18 for all “exotic” piercings – those below the belt or under the shirt.

Colleen Smith – a body piercing artist who owns her own business and works out of the Ink World Tattoo building in Coeur d’Alene – said it’s important not to pierce or tattoo kids at too young an age because they are still growing. A belly button piercing on a 12-year-old will migrate to a different location by the time the client turns 16, for instance.

“The moms and dads are actually kind of happy about (the law) because kids are pushing for it really early,” she said.

Although the new legislation does nothing to establish health standards, Smith applauds the effort because it could lead to desperately needed restrictions. Diseases and infections lurk in unclean parlors, she said, and health standards would help protect consumers.

“It is what you can’t see that’s so scary,” she said.

Dan Golebiewski, owner of Dan’s Tattoo Shop, said parents sometimes become upset because artists refuse to work on their children because of age requirements established by a business. He said the law makes it easier because now the artist isn’t the bad guy. And, he said, it helps stores feel better about the standards they set.

Law or no law, he said, body art is here to stay.

“It’s in the culture,” he said. “It’s not going away, you know? It’s been around longer than most religions.”