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Bigfoot Goes to State Supreme Court in New Hampshire

So I initially reported this story back in March, which was also our 250th blog post here at The Occult Section. Long story short, a man decided to film a piece of “performance art” which had him dressed in a Bigfoot costume and interacting with park goers in a New Hampshire park. Park rangers kicked him out because he didn’t have a permit or insurance to film in the park. This man then decided to take his case to court, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union. he took his case to court, and lost. So now he’s taking his case to the state Supreme Court. Because our legal system isn’t already fucked up enough.

bigfoot, sasquatch, acluBigfoot is taking his First Amendment case to New Hampshire’s top court.

When Jonathan Doyle of Keene donned a Bigfoot costume and set out to videotape staged sightings of the fabled ape-like creature on Mount Monadnock two years ago, state park officials put the kibosh on his escapades, saying Doyle and his friends had failed to pay $100 for a special-use permit 30 days in advance and secure a $2 million bond.

But such requirements stifle free speech and artistic expression and are too broad to pass constitutional scrutiny, say Doyle and the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union. Defeated at the trial court level, they’ve now climbed to the top of New Hampshire’s legal system, the state Supreme Court.

I’m not sure why this guy feels the need to make such a big deal out of this. I understand why he doesn’t agree with the fact that he needs a permit to film in the park, but these laws exist in many public locations throughout the country. Many parks have laws that state you cannot photograph or film in the park for commercial reasons without a permit. It’s not a free speech issue, it’s just the law. If you don’t like the law, go find a park that doesn’t require permits. Or instead of clogging the courts, maybe just pay the $100 for the permit?

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