Quick note...if you can get married at 18 you should be allowed to be tattooed...what is the difference?  More than half of all marriages fail and the average cost of a divorce is very comparable to the cost of tattoo removal!

As I was saying, Mr. Altman should focus more on important issues instead of imposing his unjust comments on those who actually are trying to make a living by providing a service to those who exercise their right to get a tatoo or not.

Now I’m finished !

Mr.Altman needs an assistant to help him remove that pesky foot that is constantly lodged in his mouth. I`m sure he`s A do as I say and not as I do kinda guy. I don`t think he`s ever read the Constitution and wouldn`t know it if it bit him on the Arse. He`s right and you`re wrong that`s all you need to know.....right ? Strom would be proud.

I think at 18 you do not have enough wisdom to decide about what to put on your body for the rest of your life! So many I have talked to that got a tatoo before 21st birthday regret having done it and that it was a wime and had they waited a couple of years they would not have done it. Making it illegal at 18 would give those that are not sure of the lifelong issues with a tatoo some extra time to gain some insite before commiting to a dicision that will be there for a long, long , long time!!!

I don’t agree with John Graham Altman. Eighteen year olds are old enough to fight and die for their country then why shouldn’t they have the right to decide for themselves to have a tattoo or not. It is rediculous to tell a person you are old enough make some decisions for your self but you can’t make others.. For instance, goverment will decide if you should go in service and possibly put your self in harms way at age 18; but you can’t decide to get a tattoo. Don’t misunderstand. I don’t care if you get a Tattoo or not; but the age for becoming adult should be
the same for all decisions.

While I am a believer in the government stepping in to protect people from themselves(whether they know it or not), I think we should know when to pick our battles. I don’t have any tattoos myself, but I don’t see anything wrong with someone getting one as long as they know all the pros and cons that coincide with it. Most of all I guess that it’s there and it’s not going anywhere.

Definitly not for an underaged person. Another idea could be to not let an 18 year old currently enrolled in high school. Maybe that would cover the tail end of foolish underage inluence and pier pressure.

I think kids think differently once they get out of that school environment and hopefully begin to be more worried about what they’re gonna do with their life rather than impressing the person in their class.

It just goes to show that there will always be people out there like John Graham Altman who are so arrogant they believe they know what is best for someone else.

‘He also said if you take the money out of the equation tattoo artists “would go back to selling drugs”.’

That is an absolutely ignorant statement that clearly shows the ‘good old boy’ mentality which has kept this state last in the nation in so many arenas. In reality, most of the artists would go back to selling their services as mural artists, digital graphic designers, painters and computer technicians. Tattoo artists are small business owners who pay local, state and federal taxes just like everyone else who owns a small business.

On the surface it appears Mr. Altman has profiled a profession based on skin color as drug dealers. Why does that sound so familiar coming from him…..?

I could be mistaken…maybe not.