Gun Owners of America Steps Into The Spotlight

The National Rifle Association may be in the midst of the biggest load of problems in its long history, but I wouldn't count the organization out just yet.

If the NRA enacts reforms that a recent article in Guns & Ammo advocates, the organization can fully recover.

In the meantime, another pro-Second Amendment organization is filling the void.

According to the Washington Examiner (some snippets):

A Virginia-based gun rights group that had operated in the shadow of the National Rifle Association is quickly rising in rank, growing to more than 2 million members and committed to taking down lawmakers who show any sign of compromise on gun control. 

The Gun Owners of America, which has been around since 1976, has seen a spike in membership following the NRA’s recent fall from grace. 

The NRA was the most powerful gun rights group in the nation for decades but lost hundreds of thousands of members following allegations of fraud and abuse. To deal with the mass exodus, the organization also cut programs that were popular with its members, such as gun training, which led to more people leaving.

On top of that, the organization and its longtime head, Wayne LaPierre, were found liable by a Manhattan jury in a civil case earlier this year. Jurors agreed LaPierre had “violated his statutory obligation to discharge the duties of his position in good faith” and that his actions cost the organization $5.4 million.  

“The NRA is little more than a shell of itself after hemorrhaging hundreds of millions in legal fees,” Joshua Powell, a former top NRA official who settled with the state before the trial, told the New York Times.

GOA waiting in the wings

The GOA proudly pitches itself as the “no compromise” gun group and spent more than $3 million last year on lobbying efforts. It has capitalized on the NRA’s financial and legal woes and emerged as a power player in politics. 

“Obviously, there is going to be overlap, but what I think is unique about Gun Owners of America is that we are the ‘no compromise’ lobby group in D.C.,” Erich Pratt, senior vice president for GOA, told the Washington Examiner. “We have never supported gun control, not even so-called ‘gun control-lite’ like other groups have. Whether we are fighting in the courts or lobbying in the halls of Congress, we are opposing all limitations on our Second Amendment rights. I think that’s what really makes us unique in this.”

To read the full article, go here.