WARREN Council votes 6-3 for ban on body piercing

A councilwoman plans to go forward with legislation to regulate body piercing.
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Rebecca Freeman doesn't think she should have to drive to Girard or Youngstown to get her tongue pierced.
The 18-year-old student at Trumbull Career and Technical Center may have no choice now that city council has agreed to ban body piercing in the city -- at least for now.
Council voted 6-3 Wednesday to affirm the city board of health's decision to prohibit body piercing shops from opening in Warren because of safety and liability issues.
Against ban: Council members Sherry Cox-Calloway, D-at large, Ron White, D-4th, and Brendan Keating, D-5th, voted against the measure. Councilman Dan Polivka, D-at large, was absent.
Voting for it were council members Virginia Bufano, D-1st; Alford Novak, D-2nd; John Homlitas, D-3rd; Helen Rucker, D-6th; Susan Hartman, D-7th; and Robert Marchese, D-at-large.
The legislation was sponsored by Novak, who said he is not against body piercing but thinks it should be subject to strict regulation.
He decided to move forward with the ordinance despite a contradictory piece of legislation introduced in February by Cox-Calloway.
She said she wants to regulate body piercing but is holding off seeking passage for her legislation until its language more clearly addresses liability measures and safety precautions.
Regulations: Novak said he will not oppose Cox-Calloway's legislation if it maps out a fee structure for licensing and inspection of such facilities. Also, he said he would like body piercing shops to be banned from residential neighborhoods and to carry separate insurance policies for liability if they're housed in tattoo parlors.
The controversy began in August when Mark Vancil of Mineral Ridge asked the city if he could start a body piercing service in Screamin' Tattoos on Elm Road.
He said he's been trained at a school in southern California, has more than five years' experience and owned a body piercing shop in Cheboygan, Mich.
Hanging in the window at the Elm Road shop is a sign reading "Let city council know Warren wants body piercing." Another sign out front asks passers-by to honk if they support body piercing.
Vancil insists he's being given the run-around by the city because he questioned authority.
He got into an argument last month with Safety-Service Director Fred Harris regarding body piercing. He said he threatened to tell the press about the way he was treated and filed a police report, saying Harris then pushed him with his chest.
Will see lawyer: Vancil said he plans to contact a lawyer and the American Civil Liberties Union to see what can be done if Cox-Calloway's legislation is stalled or fails.
& quot;We will keep fighting this, & quot; he said.
Cox-Calloway said she will seek passage of her ordinance, adding, "As legislators, I do think we need to regulate it and educate people about it."
Freeman, of Johnson-Plank Road in Bazetta, agrees, saying people will have their bodies pierced whether it's legal here or not, even if the piercer is not licensed and does not use sterile equipment.
"It would be a lot safer if they allowed it here. That way, people could avoid infections," she said.