COEUR d'ALENE - "The Second Amendment isn't about firearms. It's about freedom," Brent Regan said.

He stood outside the Gladys Buroker Building at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon, following a speech he gave to a lively crowd at the Patriots' Day Idaho Oath Keepers Second Amendment Rally.

"Other people don't have the right to tell you that you can't defend yourself in certain ways if you're presented with force," he said. "The Second Amendment was put in to make sure it was clear that the government shouldn't infringe on that right, because confiscation was one of the first acts that the British tried to do to subdue colonists."

Regan, an engineer from Coeur d'Alene, spoke about some issues coming up in the primary election.

"The Idaho lands issue is probably the least understood, but probably one of the most important things that we've got," he said. "I wanted to correct some of the misinformation that's going on about the state exchange. Those are the two big things."

He joined at least 150 people in frank discussions about patriotism, liberty, gun rights and the future of the nation.

"We're here to show our support for many things," said Oath Keeper Tia Avery of Moyie Springs. "The Second Amendment being probably the first one, as we really do start standing up and fighting back, instead of letting politicians walk on us."

Avery and Kortni Roy, also of Moyie Springs, held high an American flag and a flag with the words, "Don't tread on me." Both women said they are fully trained in firearm use, and Avery pointed out the .45 caliber handgun holstered on her hip.

"People just need to start being more aware," Roy said. "If they don't, they're going to lose it all."

Roy, who works at a truck stop, said her firearm serves as security.

"It's knowing how to properly handle it, making sure you're safe and everybody around you is safe," she said.

Avery explained the meaning of "Don't tread on me."

"Don't tread on my rights," she said. "Don't try to squash what our forefathers gave to us. They fought and died for it. God be with us we never have to do that again."

Jeremy Morris of Dalton Gardens was dressed to the nines in authentic-looking Revolutionary War militia attire. His uniform was designed by the Smithsonian Institution in 1976 for a historical film commemorating the nation's bicentennial.

"Interestingly enough, the vest is actually what the British would wear," he said. "This is actually very, very authentic to what an American Revolutionary War soldier would have worn in the sense that they would often take uniforms off the British. Since this vest would have been worn at the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, that actually was done there."

Morris, a lawyer and Oath Keeper, said some patriotic-loving Americans feel that their rights are under attack.

"We see that through the Obama administration and their attempts to define certain weapons as somehow more dangerous than others," he said. "These are attempts to appeal to their very liberal, progressive base, as opposed to bring about safety. If there's one statistic that people like myself can point to, at the sheer insanity of the left, it would be that 60 out of the last 62 mass shootings have occurred in gun-free zones. Gun-free. How ironic."

Oath Keepers is a non-partisan, national organization of currently serving military, reserves, National Guard, veterans, peace officers and firefighters who defend the Constitution "against all enemies, foreign and domestic, so help us God," states the Oath Keepers mission. It is split up by chapters, and its motto is "Not on our watch."

Info: www.oathkeepers.net/id/