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For 3 months the Occupy Boise encampment has enjoyed a perfect view of the Statehouse, but that's not how occupier, Dean Gunderson sees it.

"The Statehouse is a perfect view of us," he said.

Now dozens of lawmakers want to cloud that view and evict Occupy Boise protestors from their digs across the street.

"They [lawmakers] seem to think this camp is some kind of a joke," occupier Jim Lawrence said. "It's actually not a joke. This is a political statement."

A political statement that occupiers argue does not need grassy sections of the Old Ada County Courthouse to help make its case.

Protestors are fighting House Bill 404 sponsored by Rep. Scott Bedke, R-Oakely, and supported by an overwhelming number of lawmakers on the House floor last week. The legislation prohibits camping on state grounds within city limits.

"What we are doing here right now is not only a constitutionally protected right, it's a constitutionally guaranteed obligation," Dean Gunderson said.
 

An obligation Jim Lawrence believes should be fully supported by those who work inside the Idaho State Capitol.

"Why do you want to get rid of us,?" Lawrence asks lawmakers. "Why aren't you proud of us? We're doing what you should be doing!"