(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s liquor rules for wedding barns are here to stay.
A judge in Trempeleau County ruled in favor of lawmakers who approved the new rules that all but ban wedding barns in the state.
“There is a conceivable rational basis for (the law) that the Legislature recognized that when alcohol is sold, served or allowed to be consumed and there’s a commercial aspect to those activities, the public health and safety risks are inherent and must be mitigated through regulation,” Trempealeau County Circuit Judge Rian Radtke ruled.
Two wedding barn owners, along with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, sued over the rules that forced wedding barns to largely abide by the same rules as bars, restaurants, and event halls.
They argued the law was overly broad, protectionist, violated the wedding barn owners’ rights, and all but outlawed wedding barns.
“They would need to completely upend their business model, and would lose their ability to allow guests to supply their own alcohol,” WILL wrote when it filed its suit last year.
Judge Radtke dismissed the lawsuit.
WILL’s Lucas Vebber said they are disappointed.
“WILL is disappointed in the Court’s decision,” deputy counsel Lucas Vebber said in a statement. “We remain committed to protecting our clients’ fundamental rights as we discuss potential next steps in this case.”
The rules for wedding barns were part of a sweeping 2023 law that brought other changes to Wisconsin liquor system. Those changes were driven, for years, largely by the state’s Tavern League.
