In a court case between Angle Tattoo and the City of Mesa, which has been going on since 2009, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled against the City of Mesa, saying that just because a business could give a "Negative Perception", doesn't mean that the city can stop it from doing business.
The Mesa City Council got caught in a lie, that is except Mayor Smith who voted to allow the tattoo parlor to go in. and that lie brings a shadow of transparency over the city council. There actions now have wide ranging consequences for Mesa and other communities because the court ruled that a tattoo is protected free speech.
The council lead by Dennis Kavanaugh, a lawyer, in this lie pushed to have a tattoo parlor banded from opening up in a strip mall near the Dobson Ranch community. The council used the community as their scape goat instead of expressing their true distaste of the shop owner.
Ryan Coleman, has a criminal past, which he serve his time and is now a freeman. Because a served time doesn't give government the right to hinder him or anyone else for that matter in making a living. The city in this instance instead of protecting Mr. Coleman's right to operate a business tried to take away that right. They were more concerned with the public perception than protecting rights.
The council is wrong, they lied to the voters of Mesa. In the past we have had behind closed doors issues like this before with, Bailey's Brake, parking garages for a $1.00, over budget art centers, former Mayor Keno Harker's land deal to expand his property just to name a few.
I thought this council was above this, guess I was wrong.
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