Tatoos Get First Amendment Protection

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that tattoos are a form of free speech protected by the United State Constitution.  This ruling resulted from a lawsuit brought against the city of Hermosa Beach by a co-owner of a tattoo parlor.  The City had repeatedly rebuffed the man's attempt to open a tattoo business in the City.  The Court ruled that the City must allow the tattoo parlor to locate in at least some commercially zoned areas of the city.