Many pundits and skeptics are hoping for answers regarding the tattoo removal earmark recently put in tact. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were given to a California tattoo removal initiative to remove tattoos of former gang members and troubled youth seeking a new life and career. But has the tattoo removal mandate proved to be successful? Will the money be put to good use? Many advocates are hoping the program will be a second chance for many former gang-members hoping to turn their lives around. In recent months tattoos have become considerably more taboo in the workplace, so those in favor of the earmark think this agenda will be highly successful.
CityWatch blogger said, "I know from years of my own observation that getting rid of gang tattoos-i.e. removing the gang label from one's body- is one of the most important steps in leaving gang life behind. At the most fundamental level, it's symbolic of a new start. Furthermore, there's the practical fact that it's fairly tough get a job at McDonald's if you've got, say, devils horns tattooed on your forehead. Plus a visible tattoo signifying one gang can make it, quite literally, lethally unsafe for you to work in certain parts of town."
