Tattoo Artists Alarmed By OSDH’s Email To Enforce Rules Discussed In 2007

In 2006, Oklahoma passed a law legalizing tattooing, however some stipulations of that law were deemed unconstitutional. Now, the Oklahoma State Health Department is trying to enforce them again.

“The rules for that law for what tattooers have to follow have to be promulgate and when those rules were promulgate a couple of the provisions were the ones that were in question here,” DeQuaise said.

Sabrina DeQuaise remembers tattoo artists arguing being more than a thousand feet from a school and church along with having a surety bond created hardships for artists. Court filings show the judge found the rules to be unconstitutional.

“That case was actually decided the next year in May of 2007 when district Judge Owens gave us the permanent injunction on those two provisions,” DeQuaise said.

Fast forward to 2023, Scotty Dequasie said he got an email from the Oklahoma State Health Department.

“I opened it up and it was a bunch of stuff that had already been decided on. The ball got dropped at some point. Fault's not what we’re worried about, it's about getting the problem fixed,” Scotty DeQuaise said.

DeQuaise said these rules give artists less options when looking for a place to open a shop. For example, his shop is right around the corner from a school and a church.

“We're not bad people. We're art types. We're generally gentle types of humans. We're not a problem for your kid,” DeQuaise said.

Dequasie believes this all could be avoided if people from the tattoo community were involved in conversations centered around their industry.

“I really want more representation in that room. I want somebody to be able to argue our points on laws that don't make sense but currently we don't have anything set up for that,” DeQuasie said.

The rules were set to go into effect July 1.

Oklahoma State Health Department sent News 9 a statement:

OSDH continues to assess the 2007 Order, as well as the applicability of relevant statutes to new applicants and new locations. OSDH will provide additional information and guidance to applicants and license holders as we complete our review. In an effort to clarify ongoing regulatory guidance, the effective date of all changes has been moved to November 1, 2023. This will allow sufficient time for continued assessment, and allow new applicants and/or new locations additional time to prepare for pertinent regulatory requirements. OSDH’s overarching goals remain compliance with applicable statutes, concise regulatory guidance, and protecting the public health of all Oklahomans.