Sen. Eleanor Sobel Now Wearing Tattoo Support on Her Sleeve

Photo provided by Stevie Moon

Fort Lauderdale tattoist Stevie Moon, with Sobel, his partner in Florida tattoo legislation.

​Oh, relax! That's only a temporary tattoo Sobel's wearing. And this is kind of my fault.

Recently, when I learned that former foes Stevie Moon and Sen. Eleanor Sobel had resolved differences over a tattoo regulation bill that Sobel had proposed last session, I suggested to Moon that he give Sobel a free tattoo, making their partnership permanent.

"I've discussed a few options, and she hasn't settled on a final design," Moon said, facetiously, adding in a more serious tone, "I would be honored to put even the tiniest butterfly on her ankle, but I have a feeling we're not going in that direction."

Here's that full post from October. The following week, Sobel showed for her scheduled meeting at Moon's tattoo parlor on NE 26th Street, sporting the butterfly you see on the right.

That tattoo has faded away, but the Hollywood senator's using permanent ink to draw up the Florida bill to license the state's tattooists.

A draft of that bill, and Moon's opinions after the jump.
Here is a draft version of the bill that Sobel's office shared with Moon and he shared with us.

The contretemps between Sobel and local tattooist Stevie Moon started on this here blog, way back in February when I made this post. Moon quickly reached out to tattooists around the state, warning them about a bill that had come through Sobel's consultation with the Florida Professional Tattoo Artists Guild. Moon warned that the bill had the potential for allowing established tattooists to freeze out newcomers, for making Florida tattoo conventions obsolete, and for creating penalties that were excessively harsh.

The bill above, a version of which will be introduced in the legislation session to come, resolves all those concerns. "If this is what is going to be filed, nobody in the tattoo community is going to complain," says Moon. "I'm feeling really good about this."