South Carolina Tattoo Laws Challenged as Unconstitutional in New Lawsuit
A New York-based tattoo company, Tiny Zaps, along with South Carolina residents Joshua and Stephanie McDonald, has filed a federal lawsuit against South Carolina's health director and attorney general. The lawsuit challenges two state laws: a ban on tattoo parlors within 1,000 feet of churches, schools, or playgrounds, and a prohibition on tattoos above the shoulders (face, neck, head). The plaintiffs argue these restrictions violate the First Amendment right to artistic expression and the 14th Amendment. They note that body piercing facilities are not subject to similar restrictions. The Pacific Legal Foundation represents the plaintiffs, seeking an injunction to stop enforcement. The lawsuit references a 2002 South Carolina Supreme Court ruling that upheld the state's tattoo ban, which the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review. Legal experts quoted in the article argue that tattooing should be protected as artistic expression, comparing it to printing the Declaration of Independence.
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page itself is projected from evidence records.
- Current automated evidence projection