There Were No Cows on The Microsoft Campus.
As an American photographer and sometimes civil rights activist, I have very much appreciated the protections of free speech. For example, a couple of years ago I went to the Microsoft campus to photograph what I feel is a very sterile environment. I did this on a Sunday when there were very few workers present. Soon enough Microsoft security forces appeared. At first they tried to tell me I was not allowed on the campus. I informed them that the roads through the campus are not posted as private and as such, under the law, I was entitled to go anywhere I wanted as long as I didn’t leave the sidewalks. The security forces went back to the car and had a discussion, over the radio, with some higher up. They came back and trailed me as I took fairly boring pictures of a very boring place.
The right to photograph in public places, especially as a form of political speech ,is protected in the United States. At least as long as you’re not a cow in Idaho. That states government has passed a law that makes it illegal to photograph cows on public lands or to publish photographs taken of cows in agrifactories. The argument for this ban on free speech is that cows are essential to industry in Idaho.