Getting Pierced Privately in Georgia? Female? Go to Jail. In a stunning case of "And Another Thing" gone horribly wrong, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill today that was meant to criminalize a range of notorious mutilations, especially in cases where defendants have cited ritual tradition. The primary benefactors of this bill are female victims of such crimes under the age of 18, though the bill will extend to include women of all ages. This was all well and good, until someone apparently muttered the word "piercing." The very thought left Rep Bill Heath "slack-jawed" and so an amendment was tacked on to the existing bill. With the amendment added, the bill passed with a vote of 160-0.

The newly amended bill, if passed by the Georgia Senate, will make female genital piercing as much of a crime as the far more heinous mutilations in the original bill.
posted by grabbingsand on Mar 24, 2004 - 46 comments