NYC Tattoo Firm Sues South Carolina Over Location Buffer and Neck Tattoo Rules

Tiny Zaps Co. filed a federal lawsuit against South Carolina public health director Dr. Brannon Traxler and Attorney General Alan Wilson. The New York City-based company, which operates tattoo shops in Manhattan and Brooklyn, wants to open a location in Charleston.

The suit targets two state laws. One bars tattoo shops from operating within 1,000 feet of a church, school or playground. The other makes it a crime to tattoo any part of another person's head, face or neck.

Tiny Zaps Co. argues the buffer rule is not a genuine health measure and does not apply to businesses that offer piercing services. The complaint states that tattoos constitute artistic expression protected by the First Amendment.

It adds that the Constitution does not allow South Carolina to treat tattooing as a disfavored form of expression. The lawsuit further asserts that whether artwork appears on canvas, paper or skin, the Constitution protects both the artist's right to create it and the customer's right to receive it. Tiny Zaps Co.

And South Carolina residents Joshua and Stephanie McDonald seek a permanent injunction blocking enforcement of both challenged laws. South Carolina outlawed tattooing until 2004 and was one of only two states, alongside Oklahoma, to maintain such a ban. In 2002 the state Supreme Court upheld the prohibition and rejected First Amendment claims.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal that year. In 2010 the Ninth Circuit ruled that the act of tattooing itself is protected speech and struck down a California city's ban on tattoo parlors.