Mormons Take on Alcohol Ruling

The Mormon church urged Utah on Wednesday to continue its ban on liquor advertising despite a federal court ruling declaring the law unconstitutional, arguing that the 1st Amendment rights of alcohol vendors should be curbed.

The church said that a majority of Utah residents want to keep the ban on advertising wine and liquor and urged the state to fund studies to determine the advertisements’ “impact on vulnerable youth.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which urges members to abstain from drinking alcohol, claims 70% of Utah’s residents as followers.

“The church believes the purveyors of alcohol should not be accorded the same 1st Amendment protections to promote use of their products to youth as those who speak out on political, social, religious and other issues of human discourse,” the church said.

Temporary guidelines were adopted Aug. 7 by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. They allow Utah’s private clubs, taverns and restaurants to advertise the sale of liquor and wine. This includes the ability of waiters to offer wine lists to patrons without first being asked. Four of the five commissioners are Mormons.

The commission was acting in response to a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Utah’s law was irrational and violated commercial free speech.