A waiting period for tattoos?

The Washington, D.C., health department wants the city to impose a mandatory 24-hour waiting period to keep adults from getting inked on impulse, according to the Washington Post.

The idea behind “think before you ink” is to keep rash, possibly intoxicated people from making a snap decision they’re going to have to live with the rest of their lives.

“We’re making sure when that decision is made that you’re in the right frame of mind, and you don’t wake up in the morning . . . saying, ‘Oh my God, what happened?’” health department spokeswoman Najma Roberts told the website benswann.com.

First of all, good luck with that. If a tattoo of Miley Cyrus twerking on a flexible part of your body is the worst thing you have to worry about when you wake up saying, “Oh my God, what happened?” chalk it up to a learning experience.

If there isn’t a jail cell around you or a new spouse next to you, you’re doing OK. Drink plenty of water, hope nobody took pictures and don’t go swimming anymore.

Second, health departments are in charge of many important things – hygiene, food safety, even the sterility of tattoo needles. Trying to make sure people don’t wake up in the morning saying “Oh my God, what happened” isn’t one of them, not even in liberal Democrat playground Washington, D.C.

According to the Post, the proposed waiting period is part of a 66-page package of rules for “body art” (which includes piercings) the city Health Department released on Friday. There will be a 30-day public comment period before the City Council votes on whether to approve the rules.

A lot of that comment is going to be negative.

“That’s stupid. I think you shouldn’t tell people what to do,” tattoo customer Marcela Onyango told the Post after getting her mother’s birthday tattooed on her rib cage.

“We’re all adults. It’s not their business.”

Now there’s a thought for the D.C. health department.

It’s an even better one for the feds.

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Joe Saunders

Joe Saunders, a 25-year newspaper veteran, is a staff writer and editor for BizPac Review who lives in Tallahassee and covers capital and Florida politics. Email Joe at [email protected].

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