Bill would regulate body piercing
November 30, 2005
The body piercing industry is making another effort to pin down state piercing regulations after last year's attempt got stuck in the state legislature.
Standardizing parental consent, age restriction and sterilization rules are at the top of the industry's list of goals. There is no statewide set of standards for the piercing and scarification industries; all piercing regulation is determined by individual businesses.
Seattle piercer Troy Amundson said clients have come to him surprised that there are no state regulations, since the policies of most shops already work well. Most piercers are supportive of legal standards, he added.
"Our industry is being proactive, and it's very rare for any industry to be proactive in asking to be regulated," Amundson said. "We want to lend our professionalism to the process."
Like last year, Amundson, along with state Rep. Sherry Appleton, (D-Poulsbo) are leading the effort to introduce the bill in the legislature.
"We still want the same thing, but we have to be more tactful about it," Amundson said.
Appleton said this year's bill would put regulation in the hands of the state Department of Health. Amundson said 34 states already have legal standards for the industry.
"Anybody right now can put out a sign saying they do body piercing and there are absolutely no standards," Appleton said of Washington's situation.
Last year, legislators introduced two bills proposing piercing regulations, neither of which Amundson supported. One would have placed piercing under the same regulatory umbrella as cosmetology, while the other would have limited the regulations to parental consent. Neither passed.
"The concern [in the Legislature] was that any bill that implied any sort of parental consent or parental involvement would set precedents against pro-choice and reproductive rights issues," Amundson said.
Appleton said she will "pre-file" the bill in Olympia Dec. 20. With this year's 60-day legislative session, it will be crucial to keep the bill moving.
"If it gets tied up, it's dead effectively," she said.
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