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“Santa’s Butt” Can Come to Maine (1/4/2007)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
Following ACLU Intervention, State Backs Down from Attempt to Censor Beer
Labels
PORTLAND, ME - In what may have been the most talked about
censorship case of the holiday season, Santa and the brewing company that wished
to put him on their labels came out on top. In a letter dated December 22,
2006, Maine’s Liquor Licensing Unit Inspector Supervisor Jeffrey Austin told
Shelton Brothers Brewers that they could register the label for “Santa’s Butt
Winter Porter”, which features Santa’s fully-clothed derriere perched atop a
barrel (or “butt”) of beer.
“We’re glad this case has been resolved
in favor of artistic freedom,” said Zachary Heiden, a Maine Civil Liberties
Union Staff Attorney. “It’s too bad the beer wasn’t in stores in time for
Christmas, but maybe this will make government agencies stop and think before
involving themselves in any future suppression of expression.”
On November
30, 2006 the Maine Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of Daniel
Shelton, a specialty beer distributor who was refused permission to sell three
beers because the state deemed their labels “undignified or improper.” In
addition to “Santa’s Butt”, the state also barred the labels for “Les Sans
Culottes,” which featured Delacroix’s classic painting Liberty Leading the
People, and “Rose de Gambrinus,” which featured a watercolor painting of
the King of Flanders sitting with a bare- breasted woman.
“These
illustrations have been used on beer sold across the country,” said Shelton, who
works with small craft-breweries around the world. “I’m glad Maine won’t
be known as the state that objects to the image of Santa Claus having a
beer.”
Maine law requires beer and liquor distributors to obtain a
Certificate of Approval and to register the labels with the Maine Bureau of
Liquor Enforcement. The Bureau ensures that labels are factually accurate
- displaying the correct ingredients and the proper volume, for example- and
polices the illustrations used on the labels. The strict policing that
landed Santa’s Butt on the chopping block raised first amendment concerns and
lead to the MCLU decision to challenge the decision.
Despite this
decision, the MCLU plans to move forward with its suit to stop the agency from
engaging in future censorship of beer labels.
"We're happy about this change
of heart, but the most important thing for us has always been wiping that bad
regulation off the books so that no one ever has to contend with it again,” said
Shelton. “State agencies shouldn't be reviewing beer labels on open-ended
subjective standards like 'propriety' and 'dignity.' Beer drinkers in
Maine and everywhere should be left alone to decide for themselves what offends
them or doesn't."
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