When she was the tender age of 17, Sue Witthauer got her navel pierced in New Jersey. Witthauer, sophomore in biology, had to show her identification, and her father, who was required to be with her, had to show his ID as well.

“They made both me and my dad show them our IDs. My dad forgot his, and he went back to get it because they wouldn’t do it without his ID,” Witthauer said.

If one Ames legislator has her say, that scene might become more common here in Iowa.

A bill introduced to the Iowa Legislature last week by Rep. Teresa Garman, R-Ames, would make it illegal for individuals under the age of 18 to pierce any part of their body other than their ear lobes without the written consent of a parent or legal guardian.

Garman said the idea for the bill, which has already been approved by the House Human Resources Committee, came after she heard a story from one of her constituents about a minor getting an infection from a tongue ring.

“The bill was introduced because a daughter of one of my constituents got a tongue ring without her parents’ consent. It got infected, and her parents thought that they shouldn’t have to pay for it if she got it without their consent,” she said.

Garman said she thinks the state piercing laws should be changed to mirror more closely the state laws concerning tattoos.

“You cannot get a tattoo in the state if you are under 18, even if you have your parent’s approval. I think parents need to know when [kids] have piercings,” she said.

Garman said she was unsure when the proposal would reach the full Iowa House for a vote. In last year’s legislative session, the House passed a similar bill, but the Senate failed to pass it before the end of the session.

In the body-piercing shops in Ames, feelings about the bill are mixed.

At Lasting Impressions, 114 Welch Ave., no piercings are done on anyone under the age of 18 without parental consent.

“If they don’t have a parent physically in front of me, they don’t get the piercing,” said Dennis Smith, owner of Lasting Impressions.

Smith said he lobbied lawmakers heavily last year to pass the piercing bill.

“I am in favor of the bill. There needs to be some kind of governing the law for body piercing from the health department. There are too many people piercing minors without permission [from their parents],” he said.

Jody Lacanne, who performs body piercings at The Asylum, 120 Hayward Ave., said The Asylum is one of the only places in Ames that people under the age of 18 can get a body piercing.

The Asylum will pierce any body part, barring genitalia, as long as the individual is at least 16 and can provide identification, Lacanne said. The business also will pierce 15-year-olds with a parent’s written consent.

Lacanne said he thought the bill’s intentions were misplaced, and legislators should instead focus on the safety of piercings.

“It won’t bother my business any. If they can’t get it done some place like here, kids are going to have their friends do it, which is unsafe,” he said. “I think [Garman] should be more concerned with the health and safety of the places that are doing the piercing than the kids that are getting them done. The Health Department just comes around three or four time a year. There is no real law regulating piercing.”

Kate Mohning, who had her navel pierced when she was 19, said she thinks the bill would be a good idea.

“Well, I think that they should have parent’s consent,” said Mohning, junior in sociology.

Mohning said her parents had differing opinions about her piercing, which has since grown shut.

“My mom thought it was OK. She is a nurse, and as long as I am healthy and keep it clean, it’s fine. My dad hates it, but he’s kind of conservative,” she said.

As for Witthauer, she said she thinks parents should know about their children’s piercings, as her dad did, but she did not think it was an issue that needed to be addressed by the Iowa Legislature.

“I think it should be something between parents,” she said. “If my kid did it without my consent, they would get punished. It’s not something for the government to regulate.”