Eyeball Tattoos Could Become a Crime [VIDEO]

Eyeball tattooing could soon be against the law in one U.S. state. Lawmakers from Oklahoma are looking at banning eye tattoos, calling it a “public health” issue.

Eyeball Tattoo Law

Oklahoma’s Health and Human Services Committee unanimously passed a bill to outlaw eye tattooing, media outlets in the state report. Senate Bill 844 was apparently brought to lawmakers by the Oklahoma Academy of Opthamology. Supporters cite warnings by doctors that eye tattoos could lead to blindness.

“It is completely patently disgusting and crazy to do it,” Oklahoma City Senator Cliff Branan told KSBI-TV. “We as a good public health policy we felt it was important to stop that trend before it goes any farther here in the state of Oklahoma.”

Tattoo artists in the state have called the bill a “waste of time,” noting that the practice is far from common.

“If you want to risk your eye sight to look like you’ve got a black eye all the time, that’s a great procedure for you, but sane people don’t do dumb stuff like that,” one tattoo shop owner told KSBI. “It’s people trying to advance a moral agenda and save us from ourselves when the fact is we’re smart enough to save ourselves.”

The bill now heads to the Senate for its vote. If approved there, it would move on to the state’s House of Representatives and could go into effect within the month.

Eyeball Tattoo Video

The act billed as the world’s first eye tattoo was performed just last year. A Canadian man named Brave Pauly had his eye inked blue–a process that took 40 needle insertions into the eyeball to complete.

The following video shows the progression of the procedure, as well as the final product. It is not for the squeamish.