"So, let's talk about the Nazis," Laurel Libby began. I'm only surprised that the MAGA Republican from Auburn didn't say it was "our sacred duty" to protect nazis but maybe she sorta did.

Source: Portland Press Herald

A proposed ban on paramilitary activity that was inspired by a planned neo-Nazi training camp in a rural northern Maine narrowly won approval in the House of Representatives on Thursday.

It’s the second controversial bill in as many days to pass the House by a single vote. A proposal to have Maine join a group of states hoping to choose U.S. presidents based on the national popular vote passed by a one-vote margin Tuesday.

The bill that would ban paramilitary activity intended to create public disturbances or violence now heads to the Senate for final legislative approval. The Senate previously endorsed the proposal with a four-vote margin.

Gov. Janet Mills has not weighed in on whether she would sign the bill into law.

Maine Republicans rushed to defend their home-grown nazis.

On Thursday, Republicans urged Democrats to reject the bill, saying it was an unconstitutional overreaction to media reports of neo-Nazi activity in the state last summer. They argued that the bill would infringe on the First Amendment rights to free speech and association and Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms, which under the Maine Constitution “shall never be questioned.”

Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, argued that those rights also extend to neo-Nazis – even if one disagrees with their message and stated goals.

“It’s is our duty to protect the Nazis’ right to free speech and association, as long as it does not infringe on someone else’s rights – as long as they are not harming someone else,” Libby said.