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Eric Sparks
English 2010
Professor Nathan Cole
08 April 2014
Utah Liquor Laws, a Misinterpretation
In January of 2014, the bill, HB 285 - Third Substitute Alcoholic Beverage Service
Amendment, was brought to the floor of the Utah senate for review. This bill would have altered
the current laws regarding the rules of distributing alcohol in restaurants. Representative Kraig
Powell created the bill in response to the demands of many small business owners who felt that
the current laws unfairly imposed regulations on them, while it excluded other businesses.
However, the bill wasnt given the opportunity to be voted on.
Powell, along with several other representatives said the key reason the bill did not
advance this year was opposition from the LDS Church. Before the session began on this subject,
the church issued several videos and a statement urging no changes in Utah liquor laws
(Davidson). In one of these video Elder Christofferson, a representative of the church, claimed,
In Utah we have the lowest number of traffic fatalities related to drunk driving in the country,
lowest prevalence of binge drinking for those eighteen and older in the country, and we always
rank among the lowest in DUI arrests. Why would we want to risk any of those benefits that
come with the regimen we have in place? (Elder)
Although, the current liquor laws in Utah have been cited as being the main contributor
in minimizing social costs due to alcohol, studies supporting the argument for these laws are
being incorrectly used as proof for Elder Christoffersons claims.
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Specifically, there are four evidences that have been used fallaciously in the argument
to keep the current laws in place.
Evidence 1: Statistics show that Utah has the lowest number of traffic fatalities
related to drunk driving.
Evidence 2: A 2011 Report to Congress by the U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services and Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services, said that restaurants are
sometimes locations for underage alcohol consumption.
Evidence 3: A 2007 study of sixth graders in South Dakota showing that a
combination of ads precipitated the youth drinking in the next grade or expressing an
intention to drink.
Evidence 4: A report from the Journal of Studies on Alcohol & Drugs that shows a
strong link between parental drinking frequency and underage drinking.
Evidence 1
The statistics listed in the U.S. Department of Transportations report from 2012 shows
that in that year, Utah did have the lowest percentage of deaths directly attributed to alcohol
related accidents. As shown in the following table from the department of transportation:

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The reality is that regulating the way alcohol is served in restaurants is not directly
attributable to the low percentage of alcohol related deaths. For example, in 2011 Maine had a
lower percentage of deaths directly related to alcohol, yet, Maine does not enforce the same
stringent restaurant laws that Utah does. ("Maine Revised Statutes"). Additionally, vehicular
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deaths are linearly proportional with population size. A person is just as likely to die in an
automobile accident in Utah as in any other state.
Evidence 2
The Report to Congress from 2011 is an in-depth look into underage drinking. It
highlights all aspects of how minors are getting involved with alcohol and illustrates the negative
impact that alcohol can have on adolescents. Utah has included this particular study in its
defense for the current alcohol laws in restaurants. In the lengthy report though, restaurants are
only mentioned in a couple of paragraphs. The report states, As shown private residences are
the most common setting for youth alcohol consumption, although age differences are reported.
Most underage drinkers reported drinking in either someone elses home or their own. The next
most popular drinking locations were at a restaurant, bar, or club; at a park, on a beach, or in a
parking lot; or in a car or other vehicle (Report). Which, interpreted, means that youth alcohol
consumption is indeed found in some restaurants. However, it is much more likely they will
consume alcohol at their own, or someone elses home.

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Evidence 3
The third source of information is a study of sixth graders in South Dakota. It looked at
how ads contributed to influencing youth to drink, or their intention to drink. In the discussion
portion of the study, in which they write about findings, it concludes that, Exposure to alcohol
advertising during very early adolescence predicts both beer drinking and drinking intentions one
year later (Collins). It also explained in the article that children that were exposed to extremely
high levels of overall advertising were fifty percent more likely to drink and thirty six percent
more likely to express intention to drink. This article is one of the most important studies used to
validate the current policy in Utah as it relates to serving alcohol in restaurants. It is the reason
for the infamous Zion Curtain. Theoretically, if children are exposed to advertising, or the
glamorizing of alcohol, they in turn will be more likely to want to participate in the activities
advertised.
The problem with using this study to support the Zion Curtain is that it is biased strictly
to advertising. It doesnt include any evidence that children seeing alcohol pour or even
consumed increases their likely to drink. The study is restricted to look at only certain types of
advertising, such as television and media ads as well as the childs ownership of articles of
possession, such as: hats, posters, and t-shirts that advertised alcohol.
Another important variable in the study, as pointed out by the researchers, is that South
Dakota is currently ranked in the top ten states for underage binge drinking. And further, that the
research done could not reasonably be generalized for all areas because of it. Thus, the results of
this study cannot be used as substantial, correlative evidence that current liquor laws are
responsible for minimizing underage and/or binge drinking.
Evidence 4
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Fourth is a study, "Early Adolescent Exposure to Alcohol Advertising and Its
Relationship to Underage Drinking.", which discusses drinking habits as related to parents and
their children. This study focuses on psychosocial aspects of underage drinking and may have
the most meaning when it comes to alcohol consumption and its relation to the restrictive laws in
Utah.
One of the main restrictions as mentioned earlier, is that according to Utah law alcohol
must be in an area separated from an area for the consumption of food by a patron by a solid,
translucent, permanent structural barrier such that the facilities for the storage or dispensing of an
alcoholic product (Utah). This area has been coined the Zion Curtain, because it limits children
from seeing alcohol being poured or mixed. However, in this study there were two results that
refuted the logic behind having this barrier.
First, the study found that the religiosity and church attendance of the parents, as well as
the involvement of the parents and children with religious observances and youth groups,
lessened the likelihood of children to drink. This helps prove that Utah with more than half its
citizens as members of the LDS church (Elder) is actually the contributing factor for lower than
average rates of underage drinking.
Second, the article states, Family contexts in which children were exposed to parental
drinking and perceived approval for their own use of alcohol increased the likelihood that the
children would start drinking at age 14 or younger, consistent with our earlier research on child
sipping or tasting of alcohol.(Early) While you can bar children from seeing alcohol in public,
what influences them the most is what happens at home. A child is more likely to drink if the
family approves of alcohol drinking, rather than by seeing it poured in a restaurant.
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All of these reports and studies are used to support the current liquor laws in Utah.
However, as discussed, it is a stretch to apply this data as supporting evidence. It is a fallacy to
credit the current laws, and not the social or psychosocial culture of Utah, as the contributing
factor for fewer DUIs and less underage drinking.
Driving while under the influence is a problem everywhere and the statistics only prove
that Utah is marginally better than many other states.
Additionally, the studies of underage drinking do not substantiate that the current
restaurant laws which shield children from alcohol contribute to less alcohol consumption
amongst minors. The children most affected are those that see alcohol consumption in their own
homes; whether it be advertised in the media, or watching their parents imbibe. Children that
dont see alcohol being used at home, probably belong to the fifty percent of Utahans that are
affiliated with a religion that encourages parents to teach their children to avoid alcohol while
accepting others Even though they force others to drink in segregated areas.


















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Works Cited
"2012 Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview." TRAFFIC SAFETY FACTS Research Note. U.S.
Department Transportation, Nov. 213. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
Collins, Rebecca L., Ph.D., Phyllis L. Ellickson, Ph.D., Daniel McCaffrey, Ph.D., and Katrin
Hambarsoomians, M.S. "Early Adolescent Exposure to Alcohol Advertising and Its
Relationship to Underage Drinking." 2007. MS. National Institute of Health, Santa
Monica.
Davidson, Lee. "Utah Lawmakers Heed Mormon Church, Keep Zion Curtain | The Salt Lake
Tribune." The Salt Lake Tribune. N.p., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
Donovan, John E., Ph.D., and Brooke S. G. Molina, Ph.D. Childhood Risk Factors for Early-
Onset Drinking*. Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center, 2011. Print.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson Addesses Utah Alcohol Laws. Dir. D. Todd Christofferson.
Mormon Newsroom, 21 Jan. 2014. Onine Video.
"Maine Revised Statutes." Title 28-A, 2051: Prohibited Acts by Minors. N.p., 03 Dec. 2013.
Web. 06 May 2014.
"REPORT TO CONGRESS ON THE PREVENTION AND REDUCTION OFUNDERAGE
DRINKING." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and
Mental Healh Services Administration, May 2011. Web.
"Utah State Legislature." Utah State Legislature. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2014