CAPITAN It wasn't the largest armed rally in U.S. history, as organizers had hoped, but an estimated 350 people attended the"Restore the Constitution
Western Rally," held Saturday near Capitan.

The event, held on private land owned by Billy Weddige eight miles north of Capitan on Highway 246, coincided with an Eastern rally staged in Greensboro, N.C.
It was broadcast live on at least 12 radio stations, with a feed by
Ruidoso's KEDU-FM.

Supporters of various political candidates set up booths and passed out pamphlets while prominent members of both major political parties were in attendance. A Nogal-based band, the Longhorn
Dance Band, entertained the crowd with county music.

At least half the attendees carried weapons, from M-16 rifles to pistols as an affirmation of the Second Amendment that gives citizens the right to
keep and bear arms. But the rally reached beyond the Second Amendment in
support of states' rights, enforcement of immigration laws, the Bill of
Rights and other articles and amendments of the Constitution.

Among the speakers was Steve Pearce, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Pearce relinquished his 2nd Congressional seat
to Democrat Harry Teague in 2008 in an unsuccessful try for the U.S.
Senate.

"Steve must have had a 'Come-to-Jesus' moment while out of office," mused an onlooker Saturday, referring to Pearce's newfound interest in all things constitutional.

Pearce, discussing Article 1, sections 8 and 9 of the

"Our family didn't have a heritage of wealth or a heritage of status É only a heritage of making our own way," he said.

Pearce said the U.S. Constitution and the "noble experiment called America" was born in the "cauldron" of escaping the tyranny of the British
Empire.

"Governments are always going to grow until they take away the rights of the people," he said. In response, Pearce added, the framers of the Constitution created a document restricting the reach of
the government that is "very orderly, precise and succinct."

Therefore, Pearce said, it advocated the consent of the governed, no taxation without representation and the rule of law: "A document that stood
between the government and the people É that empowered not the
government but the people. Our framers understood this one single paper
was our protection."

Pearce did not criticize President Obama per se. He noted that in the last 30 to 40 years, "We've begun to walk away from the Constitution as if it had no meaning."

Our freedoms are at risk today, he said, calling on resistance from the ground up.

"People in Washington know that when we talk about our values and beliefs we are harder to control," he said.

It isn't just Washington, Pearce noted.

"We've lost the Constitution on the streets of America before we lost it in Washington. They want life easy. They just want to take your money."

Pearce called on leaders at all levels, from the local level on up.

"My friends, we are dying for leaders in this county," he said. "If we squander our liberties" granted by our Founding Father, "then shame on
us."

Another speaker was Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, author of the controversial SB 1070 immigration bill.

Regarding illegal immigration, "we have a raging battle in this country," Russell Pearce said, addressing the rally from Arizona via Skype.

Referring to a "gangster government in D.C.," Pearce railed against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in "siding with a foreign nation in suing Arizona."

"I make no apology to anybody for standing up for the rule of law," he said. "It's amazing that the federal government would sue us for
upholding the law of the land."

Russell Pearce predicted that SB 1070 will prevail through the appellate court process. He added that the situation on the border is "worse than it's ever been," referring to
the flow of illegal immigrants and rampant crimes of home burglaries,
stolen cars, family dogs with their throats cut and cattle mutilations.

Ranchers on the border, he said, "hear noises at night and pray for daylight."

Referring to murdered rancher Bob Krentz, Pearce said, "I don't know what it takes to wake America up."

Rally promoter Dr. Ray Seidel of Capitan said plans are afoot to hold another rally Oct. 30 on the same site.