Gun Owners of America
Encyclopedia
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States
with over 300,000 members. 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" 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. The GOA took issue with the NRA over the 2007 NICS Improvement Act.
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.
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. GOA's executive director
is Larry Pratt
, who also hosts GOA's audio webcast, Live Fire.
. 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. 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.
is "Gun Owners of America Inc. Political Victory Fund" (C00278101). 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. 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." 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.
, 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." 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), 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.
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.
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
.
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.
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.
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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with over 300,000 members. They make efforts to differentiate themselves from the larger National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
(NRA), and have publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what the GOA considers to be the selling out
Sell Out
The first release by Boston hard rock band Halfcocked. It came out in 1998 on Curve of the Earth Records.-Track listing:#"Crash" – 3:24 #"Holly Wood" – #"Return of the Living Dead" – #"Superstar" –...
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
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
2008 presidential bid, describing his gun-rights voting record as "abysmal, wretched, and pathetic" and rating him with an F- on Second Amendment issues since 2004 as opposed to the NRA's (through its PAC
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
, the NRA-PVF) C+ rating of McCain. The GOA took issue with the NRA over the 2007 NICS Improvement Act.
They have been described by Congressman
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
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
United States presidential election
Elections for President and Vice President of the United States are indirect elections in which voters cast ballots for a slate of electors of the U.S. Electoral College, who in turn directly elect the President and Vice President...
to gain an A+ rating from Gun Owners of America.
History
Gun Owners of America was founded in 1975, by NRA Board Member, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
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. GOA's executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
is Larry Pratt
Larry Pratt
Lawrence D. Pratt is the executive director of Gun Owners of America, a U.S.-based firearms lobbying group, and a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates.- Early life :...
, who also hosts GOA's audio webcast, Live Fire.
Goals
Gun Owners of America is a non-profit organization whose main goal is to preserve and defend the Second AmendmentSecond Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two Second...
. 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. 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.
Branches
In 2004, GOA spent over $1.75 million lobbying the U.S. Congress. Between 1998 and 2004, GOA spent over $18 million lobbying Congress. GOA's Federal Political Action CommitteePolitical action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
is "Gun Owners of America Inc. Political Victory Fund" (C00278101). 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. 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." 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:
- Guns are used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year—or about 6,850 times a day. This means that each year, firearms are used more than 60 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.
- Locking up firearms can cost lives during a life-threatening situation.
- Guns are the Great Equalizer for women. As many as 200,000 women use a gun every year to defend themselves against sexual abuse.
- Law-abiding gun owners are a good form of crime control. Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606).
The Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Federation of America
The Consumer Federation of America is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to advance consumer interests through research, education and advocacy....
Foundation disputes these statistics, saying that a Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
study found that guns were used defensively 62,000 times between 1987 and 1992.
Recent campaigns
GOA publicly denounced then President-elect Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, 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." GOA is worried that with the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
majority in the 111th
111th United States Congress
The One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of...
Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, having President Obama alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
(both rated F- by the GOA), will mean Second Amendment-protected rights could be affected. GOA concerns about the Obama administration and current Congress which include:
- The reenactment of the expired Assault WeaponAssault weaponAssault weapon is a non-technical term referring to any of a broad category of firearms with certain features, including some semiautomatic rifles, some pistols, and some shotguns. There are a variety of different statutory definitions of assault weapons in local, state, and federal laws in the...
s BanFederal assault weapons banThe Federal Assault Weapons Ban was a subtitle of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a federal law in the United States that included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms, so called "assault weapons"...
; - Legislation to end gun showsGun showA gun show is a temporary exhibition or gathering in the United States where firearms, firearm accessories, ammunition, literature, knives, jerky, militaria, and miscellaneous collectibles are displayed, bought, sold, traded, and discussed. Gun shows also often include exhibitions related to...
; - Legislation banning .50.50 BMGThe .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
caliber rifles or ammunition; - Expansion of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System;
- Ratification of international treaties with intrinsic effects on American firearm laws, such as CIFTACIFTAThe Inter-American Convention Against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms , originally the Inter-American Convention Against Illicit Firearms Trafficking in the Americas, is an international firearms control treaty.-History:...
;
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.
GOA victories
On June 6, 1995, GOA helped in lobbying the House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
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.
On July 13, 2006, The Senator David Vitter
David Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
(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
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
On June 27, 2007 the Pence Amendment passed. The bill, named after Rep. Mike Pence
Mike Pence
Michael Richard "Mike" Pence is the U.S. Representative for Indiana's , and previously the , serving since 2001. The 6th district covers much of Eastern Indiana. He is a member of the Republican Party....
(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.
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
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
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.
On February 25, 2008, Sen. Jim DeMint
Jim DeMint
James Warren "Jim" DeMint is the junior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leader in the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2005.-Early life and education:DeMint was born in...
(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.
External links
- Gun Owners of America
- Gun Owners Foundation - An affiliated nonprofit for legal assistance
- FEC filings for GOA's PAC