Politically, Utah as a whole is more or less controlled by Mormon culture. Salt Lake City itself is not, but the rest of the state outvotes the more liberal-leaning SLC. When the 18th Amendment became law, outlawing the sale of alcohol in the United States, you could easily argue that Utah was much more under Mormon control. And yet when the 18th Amendment was repealed a short while later, it was ironically Utah, the Mormon state, that provided the 36th vote which overturned Prohibition. This, despite public statements by LDS Church leaders pleading with residents to keep Prohibition in place (so much for the idea that Mormons always blindly follow their leaders).

But why did Utahns vote to repeal Prohibition? Sure, it was difficult to enforce in any effective way, and there were probably some imbibing Mormons, but certainly the majority of the state population was against the consumption of alcohol. Was it because it wasn’t working? Was it the cost of enforcement? Was it some sort of libertarian leaning, or the fear that restricting the freedoms of others might come back to bite Mormons someday? If the latter, could we equally ironically see Mormons come out in favor of repealing current drug laws and ending the “War on Drugs”?

I don’t have any answers, but I’m looking for them. If you have a clue, enlighten us all.