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About 800 Idahoans filed up the Statehouse steps Saturday armed and ready to protest against the recent gun control restrictions proposed by the White House. 

The Boise rally is one of dozens occurring at statehouses and government buildings across the nation, as thousands of Americans gather to show their support for the Second Amendment  

"Every one of us, man, woman and child," gun owner Daniel Marchant said, has the right to keep and bear arms," [the Constitution] it doesn't say sporting goods, it doesn't say fishing poles and slingshots, it says weapons. "

Only three days after President Obama signed a number of executive actions introducing the most sweeping gun control recommendations in nearly two decades, Idahoans stood up, raised signs  and packed heat inside the Statehouse rotunda.

"As an American woman," 72-year-old Valerie Snesko said, "as a mother, a grandmother, we have an opportunity to band together to protect our homes and protect our families."
 
Boisean Russell Thruston organized the rally in the City of Trees. Thruston says one of the reasons he owns a gun is to act as his child's protector.

"We want the right to protect our children from harm," Thruston said. "That's our jobs as parents. We're our kids Secret Service, we're their shield and when you take away that right from us, it affects us."

Every state except Alaska held a "Guns Across America" rally Saturday.