Parents Arrested for Tattooing Their Children
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This is not one of the children from the story...
Article Courtesy of DetNews.com
A northern Georgia couple have been arrested after they allegedly tattooed themselves and six of their seven children.
According to The Associated Press, Patty Jo Marsh and her husband, Jacob Bartels, said they did nothing wrong when they gave “tats” to their children using a plastic pen body with a needle made from a guitar string connected to an electric motor.
Five of the children received a cross-like tattoo on their hands, while a sixth was adorned with “mom and dad” on his arm. The children range in age from 10 to 17.
The pair were arrested after the biological mother of two of the children complained that the tattoos wouldn’t wash off. Marsh told authorities that the children had asked to be tattooed.
“I’m their mother,” Marsh said. “Shouldn’t I be able to decide if they get one?”
Apparently not: Under Georgia law, children younger than 18 cannot get tattoos, and no tattoos can be given by anyone other than a licensed professional.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? DO PARENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO TATTOO THEIR CHILDREN? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW.
Click here to read the full story.
What a great gift idea for a mom-to-be. Pregnancy Countdown Hand Painted Magnetic Chalkboard $28.00 
Comment by Pamela on Jan 11 2010 08:37:57:
Yuck. But then, I don’t like tattoos on anyone, so I’m biased.
Legally it’s tricky. In some cultures it might be appropriate for children to get tattoos maybe even as a rite of passage. However, in mainstream American culture it represents something more subversive. I personally think that tattoos are somewhere in between getting ears pierced which is of course widely accepted, and, well, mutilation, which is not, and probably a crime.
Comment by jamielynn on Jan 24 2010 07:57:42:
I don’t think it should be legal for children 18 and under to get tattoos. I do think children 16 and up should be allowed to with written permission and a legal parent present. Tattoos should ALWAYS be done by a licensed professional. In this case two of the kids were not theirs solely and they did not have permission from the bio mom. i think what they did is tackey and i think alot of the kids are not going to like it when they get older. should the parents be arrested NO, but should family services look into it YES and should the bio mom be able to sue YES!
Comment by MsJackie on Jan 28 2010 05:53:51:
I think they’re yokels!
Comment by Sandra D on Jan 28 2010 10:35:02:
Cultural or not, Tatoos hurt!! I have one and I swore to never do it again and I am an adult. Whether they were convinced to do it or bullied into it these parents should be held accountable for causing these children unnecessary pain not to mention putting them at risk of infection. This is unbelievable and if I were the biological mother, I would definitely pursue this issue legally.
Comment by Nikki on Feb 09 2011 04:27:51:
I love tattoos, they are amazing, but thats just it it was MY choice.. those kids had NO choice and that is so disgusting!!! imagine the pain these children were in.. mine didnt hurt, but thats because i wanted it, and i want more.. but they obviously didnt want the tattoos.. absolutely disgusting…. i dont get it, you have to have a license to have a dog.. why not a child? there are SO many UNFIT parents out there!!!
Comment by christina on Jul 06 2011 09:57:00:
HELLO NO…..I HAVE TATTOOS MYSELF, BUT DECIDED TO GET THEM WHEN I WAS 18….AND I EXPECT MY CHILDREN TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISION THE WAY I DID……BESIDES, HOW COULD U PUT UR KID THRU THAT TORTURE….TATTOOS DONT TICKLE…..IF UR IN THE MOOD TO TATTOO SOMEONE…TATTOO URSELF……..CAN U SAY “STUPID, IMMATURE, AND UNFIT”, BECAUSE THATS WHAT THOSE 2 PARENTS ARE!!!…..IT JUST MAKES ME SICK HOW SOME PARENTS TREAT THEIR KIDS THESE DAYS…..
Comment by Kelly Ross Fryman on Mar 12 2012 01:26:24:
no way because what if the child gets aids or hepatitis or needs a MRI all these are possible from getting inked besides the child is not getting to make the decision the parents are so not fair.
Comment by Janet Merry Vontz on Apr 17 2012 09:21:30:
I cannot believe this! it is awful! I would never do that to my baby. Kelly I agree with you.
Comment by Linda Walters on Apr 17 2012 09:25:12:
terrible…
Comment by Debra Rosales on Apr 17 2012 09:28:03:
Just when you think you have seen it all something like this happens.. Shameful Shameful Shameful !!! I am so disgusted by this !! Poor baby !!
Comment by Janet Merry Vontz on Apr 18 2012 10:46:06:
yes it is very SAD
Comment by Janet Merry Vontz on Apr 19 2012 12:25:30:
you should call me Connie, I just want to tell you something to pray for.
Comment by Viki Harris on Jul 22 2012 11:10:32:
What kind of idiot would put a tattoo on a kid. I hope they never see their kids again.
Comment by Alma Angeles Padilla on Jul 23 2012 09:53:57:
Comment by Kathleen Welles on Oct 14 2012 06:17:57:
MORONS
Comment by Patti Anderson on Oct 14 2012 07:02:06:
oh my hell….sterilze these people…please…
Comment by Sean Myers on Oct 16 2012 04:25:20:
Ya' gotta do it when they're young! That way they never know any different, it becomes a part of who they are, otherwise, like everyone else, they'll come to regret their drunken skull and crossbones, or butterflies or whatever. If you wait until they can actually spell "Harley Davidson", you've waited too long! He'll be the envy of all the other kids in Youth Authority!
Comment by Kathleen Welles on Oct 16 2012 02:21:47:
Sean Myers……I think you need to start a local newspaper column. The eloquent way you form your words and opinions never cease to amaze me. You must check out the FB page called ……now I am not kidding. "tattooed parents of SLO county. lol