Crowd rallies at Oklahoma Capitol for gun rights

The rally, organized by the group Guns Across America on social media sites, took place at noon on the Capitol's south plaza. Similar rallies were planned elsewhere across the country in response to gun control measures proposed in the wake of the school shooting in Connecticut last month.

No problems reported

Trooper Betsy Randolph, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokeswoman, attended the rally and estimated there were about 2,000 people there. She said no problems were reported or observed.

Bryan Hull, a founder of the Oklahoma Open Carry Association, helped plan the event in Oklahoma City.

“No more gun control,” he told the crowd. “Especially if you can't enforce the laws you already have.”

Many in the audience wore holsters with their open carry firearms.

State Reps. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, and John Enns, R-Enid, spoke or were among those in attendance. State Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, also spoke.

Proposed actions

Many viewed President Barack Obama's recent call to renew the Assault Weapons Ban, limit the sales of high-capacity magazines and other proposed congressional and executive actions as a way to strip citizens of the right to own guns.

“There's been a lot bandied about in Washington on magazine limits,” Hull said. “The only limit there should be is how many rounds your gun can feed reliably,” he said.