Prohibition is Dead and the Mormons Killed It!

That was the headline in a British newspaper when Utah became the state that pushed the repeal of prohibition over the top. At the time, President Heber J. Grant was urging the Saints, via the Deseret News to keep prohibition in place. Grant had been a dry clear back into the 1890s, and was horrified that Utah would pound the final nail in the coffin of prohibition. (For a full discussion of Grant’s views on prohibition, check out this master’s thesis at BYU on his political activities.) Some seven decades on, it looks as though Mormons (or a Mormon) is once again set to strike a blow for booze. According to the Boston Globe:

    After a 200-year ban based in Puritan tradition, Massachusetts liquor stores will gain the freedom to remain open seven days a week year-round starting next week, when Governor Mitt Romney plans to sign into law a measure ending the longtime state prohibition on Sunday alcohol sales.