Gwinnett County Health Department Rant

4 years ago, the Gwinnett County Health Department decided to start regulating tattooing and piercing.  When they first came in with the proposed regulations, they seemed like they were going to actually do something good.  By the time the final regulations came through, all the things that would have made tattooing better in Gwinnett had been removed from the regulations and the only things left were a lot of licensing fees.  Why?  Because they figured out that the original regulations would have shut down a lot of the shitty scratcher shops and any shop that they actually shut down was a shop that they couldn't collect $1000+ in licensing fees from every year- typical government stupidity.

3 days ago, I received a letter from them stating that my license was suspended due to non payment of fees.  As I sit here typing this, I have in front of me a cancelled check from my bank with the Gwinnett County Health Department's stamp on the back of it.  Not only did I pay for my license, but they cashed the damn check.  Now I have to take time out of my day to go to their office and try to straighten this out.  I'm still tattooing- I don't care.  They can't stop me.  For all the money I pay them every year to do absolutely nothing, you would think that they could at least get their record keeping straight.

Over the last 4 years I have sent them names, addresses, internet links, websites, etc. of local idiots tattooing out of their houses.  Have they done anything to shut these scratchers down? NO.  Why Not?  Because they can't make any money doing it.  The Gwinnett County Health Department is a joke, and the guy that runs the tattooing end of it- David Hornsby, should be fired.  Any time you try to get in touch with him, you're told that he's either out of the office or on vacation.  Once, when I went to lodge a complaint, I was told that he was out, even though I saw him peeking out of the back room.

The only thing that is going to keep me from exploding when I go down there today is the fact that I will have my daughter with me- which is good, because otherwise I would probably end up in jail.