Clamshell Dance

The New Hampshire Supreme Court yesterday upheld a Superior Court's ruling that the Clamshell Alliance holds a valid contract for the rental of the Portsmouth Armory for its Seabrook anniversary dance this Saturday.

The court ruled against Gov. Meldrim Thomson and National Guard Adjunct General John Blatsos, the defendants in the case.

Thomson had attempted to revoke the anti-nuclear group's contract with the National Guard, charging that the dance would raise money for illegal demonstrations at the Seabrook nuclear plant site.

"In deciding the legal issues of contract law in this case, we, of course, are not passing on the aims or activities of the Clamshell Alliance," the court wrote.

The N.H. Civil Liberties Union had taken the case because of the equal access and freedom of assembly issues involved.

Legal action surrounding the dance might not be completely resolved, however. The state is now requiring that the alliance put up a $2000 security deposit, which has never before been required for rental of the Armory.