Of tax base, tattoo parlors and fire chiefs - Tattoo rules and laws-North Carolina

Of tax base, tattoo parlors and fire chiefs
Jun 09, 2010
The Herald

(Excerpt from article)

...No good deed should go unnoticed, so we applaud Smithfield leaders for overturning their earlier rejection of a tattoo parlor next to a restaurant on South Bright Leaf Boulevard.

Granted, we could have done without the rationalization for the reversal: It was all a misunderstanding about hours of operation. Still, in our experience, politicians are loath to admit mistakes, much less correct them, so here's giving credit where it's due.

Speaking of tattoos, we know what Smithfield Councilman Perry Harris envisioned when he pictured a tattoo. We've all seen those folks who cover their body's available real estate with tattoos and piercings.

We all have our preconceptions, our prejudices, although town council members should not. And at the very least, Councilman Harris's stereotype hardly fits most customers of tattoo parlors.

For a week recently, we made an effort to look for folks with tattoos. Here's what we saw: two receptionists in the doctor's office, two TV chefs, a pregnant woman with a toddler in tow at a minor league baseball game, a woman having an iced coffee outside Orchard House Booksellers in Smithfield, two moms at a middle school band concert, a member leaving HealthQuest, a woman having dinner at Texas Steakhouse.

These are the people who will visit the tattoo parlor that Councilman Harris originally opposed. They're hardly a scary lot. In fact, they look a lot like the people who eat the at the restaurant Mr. Harris was trying to protect...