Brad Hart winced almost imperceptibly as Drew Miniear’s needle inked the last intricate scales onto his flesh.

Miniear, an apprentice artist at Ink’N U Tattoos in Anderson, was adding a Koi fish to Hart’s right calf. Hart came from Delaware County to have the work done and his choice of artist was as important as the symbol itself.

“It’s about perseverance,” Hart said of the Asian-inspired fish, its tail arched in muscular movement. “Always keep swimming upstream.”

When it comes to tattoos, the possibilities are endless, but a pair of body-art entrepreneurs say the freedom to ink and be inked is threatened.

Greg Stacy opened Ink’N U Tattoos in January. The following month, he appeared before the Madison County Board of Commissioners to challenge the county ordinance regulating tattoos and body piercing, which prohibits convicted felons — along with drug users and the mentally unstable — from working as tattoo artists in Madison County. Greg intended to hire his son and business partner, Jeff Stacy, as his chief tattoo artist, but Jeff was convicted on a felony charge in 2002.

“It takes a single event in a person’s life and makes it an ongoing thing when what they need is to move on,” Greg said of the ordinance. “I would like to see changes that allows for the fact that people grow and become more responsible.”

On Tuesday, the Madison County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing to gather comment on the matter. But some in the tattoo industry want to maintain the status quo.

“If he’s successful in changing this ordinance, it will drive the standard way, way down,” said Derrick Allen, who opened Dragon’s Eye 2 Tattoos and Body Piercing around three years ago. “We’ve got good, clean shops here in town. Jeff might open up a decent tattoo shop with his dad’s money, but what about the next guy?”

Allen worries that changing the ordinance will open the door to “scratchers,” unlicensed purveyors of illegal and unsanitary tattoo operations.

“(Changing the ordinance) is going to open it up to every drug dealer in Anderson,” Allen said. “I’ve seen tattoo shops all over and Anderson has some of the best. ... It’s one of the few towns where I’ve got respect for all the other tattoo shops.”

The rough reputation of tattoos as the provenance of biker gangs, military roughnecks and ex-cons has been hard to shake. Tattooing was only made legal in Indiana in 1997. But tattoos have gained wider acceptance during the past decade, the Stacys argue, and the industry deserves the same level of regulation as other industries.

In Madison County, the industry is regulated by a 24-page document ordinance adopted in 2002 that contains 27 sections. It requires that tattoo establishments be inspected every six months by the county health department and that artists undergo blood-borne pathogens training. Violations are punishable by a $2,500 fine and revocation of license.

But when the Stacys challenged the ordinance, they also shed light on a loophole in the system. On the licensure form for tattoo artists, applicants are asked “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” To which they can respond “No” with little fear of recourse.

“They don’t do a background check; it’s one of those unfunded mandates,” Greg Stacy said. “They need to give the ordinance teeth or get rid of it.”

He suggests creating a verification system and to restrict only tattoo artists convicted of felonies, on drugs or declared mentally unstable in the past 24 months. Such a change would bring scratchers into the system and better serve public health.