| Gun Owners of America | |
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Gun Owners of America logo |
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| Headquarters | Springfield, Virginia |
| Membership | Over 300,000 |
| Founder | H.L. Richardson |
| Executive Director | Larry Pratt |
| Website | |
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States with over 300,000 members.[1] They make efforts to differentiate themselves from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA), and have publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what the GOA considers to be the selling out of the gun rights movement.
The organization has often been in opposition to the NRA in their respective endorsements and ratings of politicians and candidates. For instance, the GOA was outspoken in its opposition to John McCain's 2008 presidential bid, describing his gun-rights voting record as "abysmal, wretched, and pathetic"[2] and rating him with an F- on Second Amendment issues since 2004 as opposed to the NRA's (through its PAC, the NRA-PVF) C+ rating of McCain.[3] The GOA took issue with the NRA over the 2007 NICS Improvement Act.[4]
They have been described by Congressman Ron Paul as "The only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington." This quote from Paul has long been displayed front and center on the homepage of the Gun Owners of America website, and Paul was the only 2008 Presidential candidate to gain an A+ rating from Gun Owners of America.[5]
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Gun Owners of America was founded in 1975, by NRA Board Member, California State Senator H.L. Richardson (Retired). Richardson continues to serve as the Chairman of Gun Owners of America. Richardson also founded Gun Owners of California, which deals specifically with gun ownership rights in California. [6] GOA's executive director is Larry Pratt, who also hosts GOA's audio webcast, Live Fire.
Gun Owners of America is a non-profit organization whose main goal is to preserve and defend the Second Amendment. They see the right to bear arms as a fundamental freedom issue. GOA's stance is to "never compromise" and to never accept the status quo.[6] According to GOA's official website, their Board feels as though Americans have lost some of their precious gun rights, and GOA strives to get them back. For the past 30 years GOA has been building a network of lawyers around the nation to aid in taking on anti-gun legislation in the courts. GOA has been involved in legal proceedings in almost every state in the nation, in the hopes to maintain and further pro-gun legislation, and pro-gun rights.[6]
In 2004, GOA spent over $1.75 million lobbying the U.S. Congress. Between 1998 and 2004, GOA spent over $18 million lobbying Congress.[7] GOA's Federal Political Action Committee is "Gun Owners of America Inc. Political Victory Fund" (C00278101).[8] It raises funds to support the election of pro-gun candidates at all levels of government.
Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) is a non-profit, tax deductible education foundation. It acts as the research arm for GOA. Their main objective is to hold seminars around the country to inform the public, media outlets, and various government officials on Second Amendment issues.[6] The GOF has recently begun a new campaign by creating Public Service Announcements (PSA) to promote what they call "PROPER Gun Safety". According to GOF their campaign objective is "To generate public awareness of the dangers of not having a gun ready for protection and to encourage gun owners not to lock up their best means of self-defense."[9] The PSAs focus mainly trying to persuade their target audience, American adults in gun owning households, to not lock up fire arms, but instead to keep them ready and accessible. According to the PSAs:
The Consumer Federation of America Foundation disputes these statistics, saying that a Department of Justice study found that guns were used defensively 62,000 times between 1987 and 1992[10].
GOA publicly denounced then President-elect Barack Obama, stating that "Based on his voting record in the Illinois state senate and in the U.S. Senate, President-elect Barack Obama will be the most anti-Second Amendment president in the history of America."[11] GOA is worried that with the Democratic Party majority in the 111th Congress, having President Obama alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (both rated F- by the GOA[12][13]), will mean Second Amendment-protected rights could be affected. GOA concerns about the Obama administration and current Congress which include:
The current administration has taken no steps to limit gun ownership.
GOA has also been battling against New York Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) who has proposed a bill that the GOA are calling the "Veterans Disarmament Act". The bill (HR 2640 & S 2084) would give authorities -- including courts, psychiatrists, and in some cases psychologists -- the ability to revoke the Second Amendment rights of veterans who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. GOA contends that this is an infringement on the rights of veterans who have served their country in combat. They also fear that such a measure would have tremendous repercussions on misdiagnosed and improperly classified veterans.[21]
On June 6, 1995, GOA helped in lobbying the House of Representatives to vote against the Moran Amendment, by a vote of 278 to 149. The Amendment would have banned .50 caliber weaponry from being licensed for export.[22]
On July 13, 2006, The Senator David Vitter (R-LA) saw an 84-16 vote for his amendment prohibiting the use of federal money for federal agents to confiscate weapons during a declared state of emergency. This bill was passed not even a year after the devastation in Vitter's home state from Hurricane Katrina.[23]
On June 27, 2007 the Pence Amendment passed. The bill, named after Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), was passed by a vote of 309-115. According to GOA the amendment blocked the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) ability to use the Fairness Doctrine in order to radically limit the free speech allowed by organizations like GOA over the airwaves.[24]
On August 9, 2007, GOA supported Sen. Vitter's work in pushing through a bill stating that no US funds can be used by the United Nations or any group affiliated with the United Nations to restrict or tax the 2nd Amendment rights. If they attempt to do so, the US can rightfully pull out all of their funds from the organization. This bill, HR-2764, passed by an 81-10 vote.[25]
On February 25, 2008, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) amended bill S-1200, The Indian Health Care Improvement Act. In the Act, the wording stated that the funds were to be used for "violence prevention". Once the funds were attempted to be used for gun buy-backs and other such anti-firearm policies, Sen. DeMint pushed through an amendment to the Act stating that the money cannot be used for any anti-gun programs. The bill passed by a margin of 78-11.[26]
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