I manage a company that places over 40,000 people into jobs each year here in Central Florida. The basic answer to your question is "yes", some (many) employers do not hire individuals with tats - it is not against the law - no discrimination claim can be made for not hiring because of tats.

Based on my experience with employers and how they hire, their level of acceptance of tats is based on quite a few things:
1. What's the economy like? Is it an employee market (low unemployment rate, employers can't find enough people to fill their vacancies)? If so, the employer will usually be more lenient and hire an individual with tats cause he/she needs soemone.
2. Do you have much interaction with the public? Behind the scenes jobs tend to have more flexibility than ones that meet and greet the public all day.
3. Is it a large employer or a family owned small employer? Many times large employers have more strict rules to cover everyone.
4. How young is the management staff? Younger managers are more tolerent of tats than those that "grew up in the business world" when tats were taboo.
5. What part of the country that you live in. Many places are more tolerent than others

The advice I gave my daughters is to get their tats (one has 9 the other 4) where employers wouldn't see them just in case. So their tats are on their back, upper thighs, breasts, etc. No arms or legs.

You are very smart Jay_Bunny to think about it now. Good luck!