It’s incredibly baffling that a person would go to a mall, sit down on a chair and let a 16 year old ram a dull gold-plated stud into their ears like they were cattle.

Of course, I’m sure not many people understand that those piercing guns used at Icing, or many other mall jewelry shops, are the same kinds of guns used to tag cows on ranches. So why treat yourself like a cow that chews cud all day long?

Piercing guns are dangerous. Not only can they harbor diseases like Hepatitis B and C for weeks, says the Association of Professional Piercers (APP), but the people who handle these guns have probably never stepped into a CPR or a first-aid classroom.

And if anyone is going to puncture a hole in my body, I hope they know how to treat me if, for whatever reason, I succumb to a medical emergency during the procedure.

Unfortunately, Washington state does not regulate businesses that use, what RCW Title 18 says, are “stud and clasp piercing systems.” Stud and clasp is just fancy legal talk for “piercing gun.”

Piercing guns are indeed quick and easy. I got both of my earlobes done with them. It was a mistake. I potentially exposed myself on two separate occasions to Hepatitis and whatever the last person who got their ears pierced had.

The problem with this mechanism is that they can’t be autoclaved. Any reputable piercer, any dentist, any surgeon will explain to the people they’re working on that their instruments are run through an autoclave. An autoclave ensures the most sterilization possible. Not even putting a safety pin over a flame will do the same cleaning an autoclave does.

Piercers, on the other hand, are regulated by Washington’s health codes. They must use disposable, one-time only needles. The piercing guns? Yes, there are disposable versions out there, but the ones that aren’t are wiped down with a disinfectant wipe and put away.

Cleanliness is just one of the issues with guns, but what they do to the body is traumatic. A special stud is put into the proper place in the gun. The only thing special about the earring is that it’s a bit extra pokey. Unlike a regular stud with a rounded post, this one is pointed. At high velocity, the earring is forced through the skin. It makes a hole by pushing excess skin away.

A proper needle is incredibly sharp. After one use, the needle is so dull it’s useless. The needle is also hollow. Imagine sticking a straw into your favorite piece of fruit: you pull out the straw, and there is a hole in the morsel while there’s a perfect cylinder of the fruit inside the straw. That is what happens when a piercing is done properly. A hollow needle carves out the right-sized hole in the body with as little trauma as possible.

Sounds much nicer than getting shot with a gun.