Gingrich warns of a 'speech dictatorship in this country against Christianity'

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Wednesday doubled down on his assertion that "anti-Christian bigotry" was on the rise in the United States.

During a debate in New Hampshire on Saturday, the former House Speaker had blasted debate moderators for being unfair to Christians after they asked several questions about gay rights.

Apparently sensing some momentum after the debate, Gingrich seems to have made the remarks part of his stump speech.

"We had a debate the other night and folks were going on and on and on in the media, basically about gay rights," the candidate told a crowd in Rock Hill, South Carolina Wednesday morning. "So after I listened to all this baloney for a while, I just broken in a said, look, the challenge we have is anti-Christian bigotry that has forced the Catholic Church to close its adoption service in Massachusetts because it actually wanted to follow the tenets of Christianity."

"If I am your president, if you will help me win this election, we will not tolerate a speech dictatorship in this country against Christianity!"

A 2009 American Religious Identification Survey found that 76 percent of Americans identified as Christians, down from 86 percent in 1990.

Watch this video from CNN, broadcast Jan 10, 2012.

(H/T: Think Progress)