By Seanna Adcox | Editor-in-chief
Congratulations to contributing columnist Paul Hyde, who won three awards from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists! That is the most of any single writer among the 2026 winners!
“I just think it’s a dumb law.” - Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-Rock Hill, on the state’s tattooing restrictions. Proposals he’s sponsored to change them have gotten no traction.
Tiny Zaps is challenging South Carolina’s restrictions for tattoo parlors, arguing they violate the First Amendment right to self-expression. (Photo courtesy of Tiny Zaps)
By Skylar Laird
Whether tattoo artists have a constitutional right to ink near churches and schools is the central question of a federal lawsuit challenging a decades-old state law. The lawsuit also seeks to allow tattooing on the face, head, or neck. Inside the article is a map Skylar created that shows the location of all licensed tattoo parlors statewide.
A bronze statue of President George Washington stands on the steps of the South Carolina Statehouse. (File photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)
COMMENTARY
By Donovan Fifield
This commentary, republished from The Conversation, is more of a history lesson. As University of South Carolina professor Donovan Fifield writes, the Declaration of Independence was just the first step in unifying a new nation. Ratification of the U.S. Constitution was still 12 years away. Approval of a central government took some convincing — which is where the Federalist Papers came in. If you spend much time listening to debates in the state Senate, you’re bound to hear Sen. Chip Campsen reference the essays. Do you know who wrote them? By the way, South Carolina was the eighth state to ratify the Constitution (on May 23, 1788).
ICYMI ON FRIDAY...
Democratic panel recommends South Carolina lead 2028 presidential nominating calendar | By Sam Gauntt with States Newsroom’s D.C. team
GOP govs join Trump pledge designed to shield ratepayers from data center costs | By Amelia Twyman in D.C.
COMMENTARY: ‘E pluribus unum’ is not a slogan. It’s a choice. | By Tim Storey, CEO of the National Conference of State Legislatures, and Sue K. Urahn, CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts
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