BOISE - State draft legislation aimed at strengthening the self-defense rights of Idaho gun owners has the backing of the National Rifle Association gun lobby, said representatives of the grassroots Idaho Second Amendment Alliance.

After a Monday morning gun rights march to the Capitol steps that attracted an estimated crowd of more than 150, Boise firearms attorney Alexandria C. Kincaid announced the NRA had given its support to the draft bill. The measure was designed to strengthen Idaho's existing "Castle Doctrine," enabling gun owners to protect themselves from criminal intruders in their homes, automobiles, and places of employment, said Idaho Second Amendment Alliance President Greg Pruett.

Kincaid addressed the Idaho Capitol building crowd as did Idaho Freedom Foundation President Wayne Hoffman.

"There are other countries ... when you say 'We have the right to keep and bear arms in America' they look at you like you're crazy," Hoffman said through a bullhorn.

Pruett confirmed that the alliance gained approval for the draft legislation last week from the Washington, D.C.-based NRA. That NRA approval followed the Jan. 6 start of the 2014 session of the Idaho Legislature, Pruett said.

"When the NRA puts their stamp on it, the (state) legislators take notice," Pruett said. "So, that's a big selling point for us."

Idaho legislative co-sponsors of the nascent bill are Rep. Brandon Hixon, R-Caldwell, and Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, Kincaid said.

Pruett estimated "a dozen or more," Idaho lawmakers were in attendance at the Monday morning gun rally.

Pruett said Idahoans currently have to prove that their lives, or those of their families were threatened before using deadly force against an intruder.

Only Florida and Texas have stronger Castle Doctrines that enable gun owners to defend themselves against criminal intruders, Pruett and Kincaid said.

"This law will presume that if someone is burglarizing your home, they mean to do you harm," said Pruett, a Middleton resident.

Although supportive of the idea of the rally, Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Coeur d'Alene, asserted that a show of support for Second Amendment rights included in the U.S. Constitution would have been stronger in North Idaho.

"I expected it to be a little bit bigger," Mendive said. "Up north it probably would have. People are worried about the Second Amendment."