Potential customers look over the walls of available art at Dancing Dragon Tattoo Studio. Photo by Clinton Lewis

To pierce or not to pierce?That may be the question, but teens pondering the query might not have long to come up with an answer. House Bill 164, introduced Feb. 6, would make it harder for those under age 18 to get a tattoo or body piercing. The legislation would define the terms body piercing and tattooing and prohibit body piercing for minors without a parents written and notarized consent. Many in the industry support the move. Ralph Miller of Ink Cave Tattoo and Body Piercing said his business already requires parental consent forms for piercing and wouldnt be affected by the proposals. Im strongly for that, he said. I hope the legislation goes through. While tattooing is subject to health department inspections and state regulations, body piercing isnt, Miller said. There is a lot of non-regulated body piercing going on, he said. Unfortunately, there is no law making the health department check body piercing. Others agreed that more needs to be done about minors getting body piercings. Jason Fritz, a tattoo artist for Dancing Dragon Tattoo Studio, said he worked in Indiana before coming to Bowling Green and, there, parents are required to come in with their child for that child to get a tattoo or piercing. At our business, a kid under 18 comes in, we have to see Mom or Dads drivers license with a matching last name on them, Fritz said. So we dont have much of a problem here. Lynn Hopen of Bowling Green also backs the legislation. I think that, if youre under 18, you should have a parents signature, she said. I got my first tattoo when I was 18.If Hopen had children, she wouldnt want them getting tattoos or a piercing without her knowing, she said. But Mary Moneta of Bowling Green, who has 17 body piercings, had a slightly different take on the legislation. I think it depends on the kid, she said. If a kid is mature enough, he shouldnt have to get permission. (But) body piercing should be regulated by the health department. The proposed legislation defines body piercing as the act of penetrating the skin to make a hole, mark or scar. It defines tattooing as the act of inserting pigment under the surface of the skin by prickling of a needle, or otherwise to produce indelible marks of figures visible through the skin.