Utah’s liquor laws are odd. You can throw in archaic and byzantine, for that matter.

Now some want to make them even odder.

Utah is the only state where customers cannot be served drinks directly over the counter at restaurant bars. That is because children are allowed to sit there. Beer with an alcohol content of greater than 3.2% cannot be sold. And if you want a double, well, that is exactly what you will get — two drinks. Utah’s liquor law forbids a drink containing more than 1 ounce of alcohol. You will get your drink and a “sidecar” of another ounce. Then there are the famous Utah “private clubs.” A patron cannot walk into a bar in Utah. No, you have to be invited, fill out an application and pay a fee.

Senate President Michael Waddoups figures that is not byzantine enough. Now he wants drinks mixed out of the sight of minors. Waddoups explains how that seductive pouring corrupts young minds.

“They’re enticed by the glamour of it in some instances. They’re enticed by it because it’s made to look like a fun exciting stimulating product.”

Of course, mix a martini or rum and coke, and young minds are forever corrupted.

If Waddoups gets his way, restaurants and other establishments will have to remodel so they can mix drinks behind a partition.

Ridiculous.

Waddoups is not completely stuck in the 1920’s Prohibition era. He understands that the private club restriction is outdated and useless. Although he thinks it is a good way to keep track of who is drinking and where.

Some like Utah Governor Jon Huntsman want to revamp the whole system. They figure it is hurting tourism and is outdated. That is a tough reform in a state as conservative as Utah.

Its proponents credit Utah’s liquor laws as the reason that Utah has the lowest DUI rate in the country. That is impressive until one realizes that 60% of the population is alcohol-abstaining Mormons. That is the same kind of thinking that makes people like Waddoups believe hiding alcohol in drinking establishments discourages kids from imbibing.