It might not seem like a big issue to locals, who've learned how to navigate the labyrinth of liquor laws and wet their whistles. But for tourists, our prohibitive liquor laws can be a turnoff. And for those who depend on a steady flow of visitors to feed their families - restaurant, hotel and club owners and their employees - it's a major cause for concern.
You, too, should be concerned.
Our quirky liquor laws make us a laughingstock. The taxes paid by tourists, and the economic spinoff that their spending creates, help keep your taxes low. And tourism, the state's No. 1 industry, increasingly drives our economy.
Officials with the Utah Hospitality Association, a fledgling tourism-promotion organization, are trying to chip away at those laws, beginning with the statute that requires patrons to purchase a membership at each and every private club they enter.
They propose, as a trial, issuing multiclub cards to employees of their member establishments. Eventually, they hope to convince the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control board to permit reciprocal memberships for all - tourists and locals alike - valid at every private club in Utah. It's a great idea, long overdue.
But the DABC board, at its December meeting, would barely give the UHA the time of day. UHA attorney and spokesperson Lisa McGarry was granted a mere five minutes to speak, and her request did not even spark a discussion.
There's already a precedent in place. Membership cards for fraternal groups, the American Legion for example, are honored at all of the organization's locations. Country club bars benefit from a similar reciprocity agreement. And, during the Winter Olympics in 2002, when a single membership sufficed at eight clubs in downtown Salt Lake City, nobody mistook State Street for Bourbon Street.
The board needs to come to its senses and give the proposal - which would go a long way toward making Utah seem less like Mars - a fair hearing, and a thumbs up. Then, instead of returning home and telling friends about the screwiest liquor laws on the planet, tourists would regale them with tales of the "greatest snow on Earth."
