Gun Owners of America

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" 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+. 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. 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 promote Second Amendment 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.