Alas, it was a slow week in tattoo news, unless you consider Janet Jackson's secret cowboy guide tattoo as news worthy as JonBenet.

Janet's tattoos and pierced bits may be sexy but nothing gets me hotter than talk of a good legal battle over tattooing. Johnny Anderson, an LA tattoo artist, is suing the city of Hermosa Beach in federal court on grounds that the city's ban on tattoo parlors is unconstitutional. Bringing the fight to federal court on constitutional grounds is often much tougher than taking the fight locally and challenging zoning ordinances, but Hermosa Beach has a track record for denying tattooers the right to open shop, so Anderson pulled out the big guns right away.

Question is Are tattoos a form of protected speech under the First Amendment?

Massachusetts judge, Barbara Rouse, thought so when she struck down a 38-year old ban on tattooing in her state in October 2000 on constitutional grounds. Her opinion stated:

Still, I'm not sure all courts will follow her lead. Even the US Supreme Court denied to hear the case of Ron White v. State of South Carolina when the tattooer challenged the state's ban with his infamous attorney Ken Starr -- a signal that tattoos may not be a pressing and valid free speech issue. [South Carolina has subsequently overturned its state ban on tattooing.]

It's definitely a case to watch because if another court finds tattooing protected speech, well, hell, tattooed folks should run naked cheering in the streets as the implications could be huge.

Or maybe not.

News of tattoo studios morphing into fine art galleries do help the First Amendment arguments, though. Missouri's Living Ink tattoo and art studio is shown below putting the focus on art in body art.



I wish I could go on with this tattoo-as-fine-art thread but I'm stopped by the news that, sometimes, it's just all about the dolla bills y'all: Miami Ink's Ami James is designing "tattoos" for Motorola's Razr phone.

I say, Go Ami. I'm all for tattoo artists making money from their designs, as opposed to just big business co-opting tattoo cool to sell gadgets. Plus, I think that the Miami Ink folks have contributed to the popularity of tattooing with a bit of a higher standard.

Really, if it wasn't for tattoo TV, would we have countless media like the Anchorage Daily News providing Tattoo FAQ?

Marisa_DiMattia is a lawyer and editor of Needled.com, a blog on tattoo art and culture, which includes profiles on tattoo artists, news, book reviews, event listings, and shopping guides.