Protecting self and family is one of the most fundamental of human rights. Unless, that is, you protect your kids from a wild grizzly bear, in which case the green-booted thugs will try to lock you in jail:

A Boundary County man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to unlawfully killing a female grizzly bear in his yard.

So many friends and family members showed up to support Jeremy M. Hill at his arraignment that the hearing was forced to move into a larger room at the U.S. Courthouse in Coeur d’Alene. Hill, 33, faces one charge of killing a grizzly – a federally protected species.

Supporters said that Hill, a father of six, acted responsibly in shooting the female grizzly on May 8, which appeared with two cubs in the yard of his home near Porthill, Idaho, while his children were playing outside.

“It seems unjust to me that someone would be charged when they were protecting their family,” state Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said after the hearing. “I’m at a loss to understand why the U.S. government is pursuing this in the manner they are.”

The good news is that the charges were later dropped, no doubt after the authorities got wind of the backlash over their overzealous eco-nuttery. The bad news is that they still made the man pay a $1,000 fine (Hat-tip: Michelle Malkin) for protecting his children from a vicious wild animal on his own property,which is a violation of the Endangered Sanity Species Act.