Utahns oppose wine, liquor ads

Most Utahns don't like the idea of allowing alcohol products to be more openly advertised in the state, a new poll shows.

In July, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Utah's law of allowing beer advertising but strictly controlling advertising of wine and hard liquor violated 1st Amendment free speech rights.

The state Alcohol Beverage Control Commission held a public hearing Friday on proposed permanent rules on liquor advertising based on that court ruling. Final rules should be issued by December, only two months before tens of thousands of visitors come to the Winter Olympics.

However, anticipating the new rules, various restaurants and private clubs have begun advertising, both in their outdoor signs and on menus, the kinds of alcoholic beverages they sell.

But such actions don't sit well with 56 percent of Utahns, who don't want the commission to loosen liquor advertising rules, a survey conducted for the Deseret News and KSL -TV by Dan Jones & Associates found.

Jones found that 41 percent of Utahns agree with loosening liquor advertising rules, while 3 percent didn't know.

Like a number of other states, Utah controls liquor sales. While beer containing only 3.2 percent alcohol can be sold in grocery stores, all liquor products with a higher alcohol content — like wines and hard liquor — can only be purchased in state liquor stores or, in rural Utah, in regular retail stores that have a state liquor packaging permit.

Besides controlling the sale and advertising of liquor, commissioners also issue liquor permits to private clubs and restaurants that want to serve alcohol.

Utah's liquor laws have come under some scrutiny over the past year as Salt Lake City prepares to host the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson has called for various reforms in liquor laws, including making it easier for someone to join a private club. That would also require a change in state law.

The mayor also wants to increase the number of bars allowed in the downtown area, a change that could be accomplished with a city zoning amendment. That proposal was debated this week before the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.