A booth near the North Point Student Apartments sparked student curiosity last Monday evening. The booth displayed poster boards with statements such as “End the Wars” and “Print Guns Not Money.”

Students were invited to answer and vote on the controversial question, “Do you support gun rights?” The resounding vote was “yes.”

The organization responsible for the booth is Rexburg's chapter of Young Americans for Liberty.

When asked about the organization, John Michael, Idaho state chair and de facto president of the Rexburg chapter, said YAL is a national student-driven political organization. The Rexburg chapter started in April and is the only YAL chapter in Idaho.

Its purpose is to educate and train young people to engage in politics, defend constitutional liberties and influence state-level policy. YAL also seeks to reduce the size and scope of government and protect liberties such as the right to privacy under the Fourth Amendment and the right to gun ownership under the Second Amendment.

“The government has no business telling people or taxing them in ways that infringe on liberties. The Founding Fathers didn’t want us to be spied on — that’s why the Fourth Amendment exists," Michael said. "They didn’t want us to ask permission to carry guns — that’s what the Second Amendment is for."

The Rexburg chapter holds weekly meetings to educate constituents on how elected officials vote, encourages students to hold leaders accountable and works through state legislature to pass policies.

YAL is based out of Austin, Texas, but has chapters across the nation with plans to expand to other Idaho universities soon.

Michael says that YAL differs from Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA in that,“we just had different roles. They focus a lot on speech and debate. We do that too, but we also want to get to work and pass some real policy changes.”

YAL’s mission puts its faith in the conviction of college students, emphasizing their ability to make an impact.

“Young people are uniquely able to make a lot of real change happen if we just know how to do it effectively," Michael said. "And that’s what we teach.”

Michael said more than 25 students showed interest or signed up to participate.

Joining YAL is simple and can be done through Instagram or the YAL website.