Maine's Republican governor Paul LePage has voiced new outrage over the alleged censorship of his speech in the Statehouse.
"It's freedom of speech," he told reporters on Wednesday, according to the Portland Press Herald. "You folks should understand that better than I. It is the First Amendment, then there is the Second and I love 'em both."
He added, "The minute we start stifling our speech, we might as well go home, roll up our sleeves and get our guns out."
Last week, LePage was told to remove a television he placed outside his Statehouse office because it violated Statehouse rules. The television was reportedly airing campaign-style videos in support of the governor's policy agenda.
In response, he threatened to permanently move his office to the governor's mansion. Maine Democrats responded by saying "good riddance" and offered to "split the cost of a moving van."
Democrats also snubbed LePage during an Appropriations Committee meeting earlier this month, refusing his request to address the lawmakers.
LePage said last Thursday in a statement that removing the television violated his right to freedom of speech.
"Maine Democrats are taking their cue from the Obama Administration in Washington, D.C., which has violated the free-speech rights of American citizens and used the power of the government to silence those who disagree with them," he said. "If I have to remove myself from the toxic climate of censorship by Democrats in the State House to defend the taxpayers of Maine, then that’s what I will do."
