Gun Owners of America

Gun Owners of America
FoundedNovember 9, 1976; 48 years ago (1976-11-09)[1]
52-1256643[2]
Legal status501(c)(4)[2]
HeadquartersSpringfield, Virginia, US
Coordinates38°48′27″N 77°13′11″W / 38.8075°N 77.2196°W / 38.8075; -77.2196
Membership
2,000,000+ [3]
H.L. Richardson
Erich Pratt
Revenue (2015)
$2,152,940[2]
Expenses (2015)$2,319,763[2]
Employees14[2] (in 2015)
Websitewww.gunowners.org

Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States. It makes efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA) and has publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what it considers to be compromising on gun rights.

The GOA was outspoken in opposing John McCain's 2008 presidential bid, describing his gun-rights voting record as "abysmal, wretched, and pathetic"[4] and giving him an F− grade on Second Amendment issues since 2004, while the NRA (through its political action committee, the NRA-PVF) gave him a C+.[5]

The GOA has been described by Congressman Ron Paul as "The only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington." This quote from Paul is displayed on the home page of the Gun Owners of America website. Paul was the only 2008 presidential candidate to receive an A+ grade from Gun Owners of America.[6]

  1. ^ "C0802572 Gun Owners of America, Inc. Archived 2021-05-02 at the Wayback Machine" Business Search. Office of the Secretary of State of California. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". Gun Owners of America. Guidestar. December 31, 2015.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "GOA's Take on John McCain | Gun Owners of America". gunowners.org. Retrieved Mar 31, 2020.
  5. ^ "Project Vote Smart - National Rifle Association Ratings". Oct 22, 2004. Archived from the original on October 22, 2004. Retrieved Mar 31, 2020.
  6. ^ "GOA House Ratings For The 110th Congress". Gunowners.org. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-06.