This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The most polarizing and divisive issue in Utah is the Utah Division of Alcohol and Beverage Control. The DABC controls the distribution and sale of all alcohol and liquor licenses for all restaurants and clubs. It wants everyone to drink responsibly and yet pay the "sin tax" as well.
This flies in the face of our solemn legislators' "get the gummit outa my business" mentality. They praise "free markets" when getting elected, and then buy back into DABC control.
I am going to be a rugged Ayn Rand individualist idealogue for a moment. I have approached both my District 52 Rep. John Knotwell and my state Sen. Aaron Osmond, Republican, District 10, and neither wants to back my radical notion:
Not only tear down that Zion Curtain, but repeal and replace the DABC with the free markets, deciding only which stores can sell alcohol just like Arizona, Idaho or Nevada.
Yes, we need education money, and lotteries could provide that, but only one radical notion at a time.
Aaron M. Davis
Herriman