Expressions of art should not be punished, especially when no harm was intended in the first place.

This is the argument of Ramona Cox, who drew a tattoo of a cross on the ankle of her 14-year-old daughter, Danielle Herold, in May.

A little-known Iowa law, however, says tattooing a minor is illegal, regardless of parental permission.

Now Cox could face up to a year in prison for a law she never intended to break.

To make matters worse, Danielle’s father, Merlin Herold, was in the middle of divorce proceedings in May when the tattoo was drawn. He brought the tattoo to the attention of authorities and called it child abuse.

Tattoo artists need a license, and they can only draw upon adults.

However, many people, including minors, regularly seek services from unlicensed tattoo artists.

The tattoo law is rarely enforced, if at all.

But police officers rarely go around checking minors to see if they have tattoos.

Ignorance may not be a defense, but Cox’s action was no attempt to injure her daughter.

Her mistake was not a crime, and serving jail time is not the answer.

Meaningless laws such as this are prevalent across the nation.

If the government wants to crack down on illegal acts, it should divert its attention away from insignificant laws which don’t intend harm to anyone.