For an hour Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians, conservatives and liberals, hawks and doves didn't seem to mind the nearly triple-digit temperatures during the anti-war rally on the south steps of the state Capitol.

Demonstrators expressed concerns over Washington’s intentions to send arms to the militants in Syria.

They were asked to sign petitions asking Oklahoma's congressional delegation to support two bills, HR 2495 and S 1201, which would prohibit the US president from intervening militarily in Syria without explicit congressional authorization.

“We have no political or moral obligation to intervene in another nation's civil war,” said state Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, an organizer of the rally.

American troops are exhausted after fighting the past dozen years in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.
 

“We have spilled enough American blood in the desert sand,” Wesselhoft said.

Nathaniel Batchelder, director of the Peace House in Oklahoma City, said it's hoped the rally will prevent escalation of US involvement in the Syria conflict.

Those opposing the war should not be considered unpatriotic, he said.

Crisis in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following intervention of western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government boosts its political and military support to Takfiri extremists.

Washington has remained indifferent about warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.

SHI/SHI