Gun Owners of America

Gun Owners of America GOA is the gun rights company in a United States. It offers efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association NRA as alive as has publicly criticized the NRA on house 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, in addition to pathetic" & giving him an F− grade on Second Amendment issues since 2004, while the NRA through its political action committee, the NRA-PVF filed him a C+.

The GOA has been forwarded 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.

History

Gun Owners of America GOA was founded in 1976 by California State Senator H. L. Richardson. The GOA lobbies both state and federal legislatures to promoteAmendment rights. Richardson was chairman of Gun Owners of America until he retired in 2017. Tim Macy, who had been on the board since the organization’s founding, then became chairman.

Tim Macy is President and Chairman of the Board of Gun Owners of America. He has been on the Board of Directors for over 35 years since the inception of GOA. Macy is involved with GOA’s sister company as well. Serving on the boards of Gun Owners Foundation, Gun Owners of America’s Political Victory Fund and Gun Owners of California.

John Velleco serves as the Executive Vice President. He ago served as the Director of Federal Affairs for the organization.

Erich Pratt is the Senior Vice President for GOA, having worked in gun politics for over three decades. Erich served under several titles at GOA – from Federal and State Directors to Communications Director for the organization.  He now serves as the chief national spokesman and focuses on policy for both the federal and state levels of government.

Sam Paredes is a board module of GOA and currently serves as the Executive Director for GOA’s sister organization, Gun Owners of California. Paredes is a certified firearms instructor.