All your body belong to us

Washington D.C. lawmakers, particularly the dept. of health has introduced a proposal to make it mandatory for you to wait 24 hrs. before you can get a tattoo. Meaning you walk into the shop, consult your artist, then set an appointment for 24 hrs. later. Now this is how many people do it already, they set up consultations with an artist and begin a process to make sure that they get the right tattoo in the right place. Thats how my dad did it with both of his. Me, I am the guy who walks in and says I want this here, and i get it done. And yes i do have a couple of tattoos that I wish I would have thought through a little more, and I am sure I am not the only one.

so this proposal makes getting a tattoo much like getting a gun, with a waiting period. The problem I have with this is two fold. One, it is my body, my canvas, my way of expressing myself. If I want to put something stupid on my body who are you, the government, to tell me I cant or I have to wait? When did you become my mother? Are there people out there that should have waited, of course. is it the governments job to enforce that, no. If you are dumb enough to go to a cheap shop and get something ridiculous on your face, go for it. You have to live with it, no one else.

Number two, for me this feels like the start of the government trying to take ownership of our bodies. I know it sounds all tin foil hat conspiracy like, but hear me out. you buy a cell phone from your carrier. but you are not allowed to tweak it in anyway. you are not allowed to use Verizon's phones with AT&T. if your jail break or root your phone, your warranty is void, and if something happens to the phone they will not replace it. On top of that I am now locked into a two year contract with whatever carrier I purchased the phone with. So do you really own that phone?

Now if the government starts saying you cant get a tattoo until you have really thought about it, how long before they say, you cant get a tattoo on your face, or your hands? or that if you get a tattoo it cant be religious in nature and cant be visible. This is right on line with New York saying you cant purchase a 32oz soda, because it will make you fat. Should we cut back on our junk food intake? Sure, should we think long and hard before we get a tattoo? Sure, is it the governments responsibility, or right, to make these decisions for us? Hell no, I am a grown man, I moved out from under my mothers wing when I turned eighteen. She can no longer tell me what to do with my body, and neither should the government.

Part of life is making big stupid mistakes and learning from them. When you take that away, you are not only taking away personal freedoms, but you are playing the role of God by trying to decide how my life should be lived for me.