California Ink: Tattoo artist beats municipal ban
Tattoos are certainly a form of expression. Hey, what better way to proudly declare your immaturity, vanity and poor taste?
But to what extent is the business of tattooing protected under the First Amendment?
Leave it to the 9th Circuit to buck the trend in answering that question.
The City of Hermosa Beach is tucked away in the southwest corner of Los Angeles County, California.
Los Angeles County generally permits tattooing businesses, Hermosa Beach does not.
Courts around the country have routinely upheld municipal bans on tattoo parlors like the one imposed by Hermosa Beach.
But that didn’t faze Johnny Anderson in the least.
Johnny is the part owner of a tattoo parlor in the City of Los Angeles. Being the entrepreneurial sort, Johnny wants to expand his business by opening up a new parlor in Hermosa Beach.
Hermosa Beach said no, so Johnny sued to overturn the city’s ban on tattoo parlors.
Whaddya know but yesterday the 9th Circuit overturned a district court’s decision in favor of the city and held that a municipal ban on tattoo parlors violates the First Amendment.
“[W]e hold that the tattoo itself, the process of tattooing, and the business of tattooing are forms of pure expression fully protected by the First Amendment.
“We further hold that the City’s total ban on tattoo parlors in Hermosa Beach is not a reasonable ‘time, place, or manner’ restriction because it is substantially broader than necessary to achieve the City’s significant health and safety interests and because it entirely forecloses a unique and important method of expression,” the court said. (Anderson v. Hermosa Beach)
So Johnny apparently gets to open up his new tattoo parlor, adding to the nearly 300 tattoo establishments in Los Angeles County.
Lovely.
But hold on. Since this is one of those “outlier” decisions the 9th Circuit is famous for, don’t be surprised if the Supreme Court ultimately steps in and has the last word.
Michael Jenkins, an attorney for the city, told The Los Angeles Times that seeking review by the full 9th Circuit and appealing to the Supreme Court are both possibilities.
- Pat Murphy
