WASHINGTON TWP. -- They feel they are losing their individual freedom and they said they came to "take their state back."

The New Jersey Second Amendment Society -- a pro-gun rights group -- and about 200 gun rights advocates gathered in the ballroom of The Washington Banquet & Catering on Saturday to rally support and gather signatures for a recall effort against State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester).

The primary focus of the event was to collect 30,000 signatures from registered voters in Sweeney's Third Legislative District, which spans Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem counties.

The room was filled with orange shirts with "Stephen Sweeney" crossed out. People were impassioned, and many didn't shy away from their feelings toward Sweeney.

Ron Fierro, 64, of Brick Township, said he came to the event because he believes he should choose how he should protect himself and his family.

"Steve Sweeney told me there wouldn't be any anti-gun legislation. He lied to both of us," said Fierro, standing next to his friend.

Sweeney did not immediately return a call for comment on Saturday.

Fierro is a staunch supporter of open carry laws, allowing citizens to openly carry firearms in public.

The venue where the event was held was acquired at the last minute Friday evening when the group scrambled after it was told it could no longer use the Mantua Township venue it originally reserved two months in advance.

Bryan Miller, executive director of Heeding God's Call, a faith-based group in Philadelphia that seeks to prevent gun violence, called to respond to the NJSAS gathering on Saturday.

When he heard about the number of people who showed to the event, he said he didn't think it was "a very impressive number."

"And, what is also clear, this group is pretending to be for many things, and for a recall of Senator Sweeney, when in fact, all they are interested in is changing New Jersey's gun laws wholesale," Miller said.

Before heading out to various areas to collect the signatures needed for the state's recall process, the crowd heard from Alexander Roubian, president of the NJSAS.

"We are going to take back our state and get rid of Stephen Sweeney!" shouted Roubian into a microphone as the crowd roared and cheered.

The NJSAS has been leading a crusade against Sweeney and his stance on state gun laws -- even recently staging two protests outside his home in West Deptford over the fatal stabbing of a Berlin woman that the group blamed on overly strict state gun laws.

Sweeney previously acknowledged that he turned on his lawn sprinklers during the second protest because, he said, the event was causing his family distress.

"The only thing I think about everyday is getting Stephen Sweeney out of office," Roubian said.

Last year, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a gun control bill that would have reduced the capacity of ammunition magazines from 15 rounds to 10. Though not an initial proponent of the legislation, after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, Sweeney jumped on board and championed the bill, according to a previous NJ.com article.

"When Chris Christie vetoed the magazine bill, it was the biggest relief," Roubian said to the crowd.

But lowering state taxes is just as important to the group as loosening gun laws.

"This is about high taxes, over-regulation and not having individual freedom," Roubian said after the event.

Timothy Knight -- who was the central organizer in the 2013 recall of two Colorado Democrats who were ousted after supporting several state gun laws -- came all the way from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to speak to the crowd.

"They are going to call you all kinds of things," Knight said, referring to gun rights opposition. "This is their tyranny; this is their device."

After the rally, Knight said he came to the event to share his experience with the crowd that it is possible to achieve a successful recall on legislators.

"A lot of people ask, 'Why are you here?'" he said. "I'm nothing more than an example."

Everyone was then given the proper paperwork and a clipboard and instructed how they should go about gathering signatures and how each volunteer should behave.

One attendee asked about what to do if provoked -- to which Roubian said: "Do not incite anything."

Roubian said if anything were to happen, the group had a lawyer on standby.

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Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.