Gun Owners of America Marks 50 Years, Touts Ongoing NFA Lawsuits

Gun Owners of America is marking 50 years since its 1976 founding, pointing to a run of legal and legislative fights it says have defined its no-compromise approach to the Second Amendment.

Snapshot

GOA was started in 1976 by former California State Senator H.L. "Bill" Richardson to give gun owners a stronger lobbying voice. The group's anniversary announcement recaps decades of opposition to federal gun laws and recent court fights, including a case GOA says led ATF to stop enforcing registration and tax requirements on suppressors and short-barreled firearms.

Key points

• Origin: GOA says it was founded in 1976 by Sen. H.L. "Bill" Richardson to counter efforts to restrict Second Amendment rights.
• Past fights: The group points to its opposition to the Brady Act and the federal Assault Weapons Ban, and its pushback against firearm confiscations after Hurricane Katrina.
• Cited wins: GOA credits itself with helping defeat Universal Background Checks and repeal federal gun restrictions in National Parks and on Amtrak.
• Current litigation: Through Gun Owners Foundation, GOA says it is challenging concealed carry restrictions, the pistol brace rule, and the National Firearms Act, with a recent NFA suit it says prompted ATF to halt nationwide enforcement on suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs.
• Leadership statements: Senior Vice President Erich Pratt says GOA plans to keep fighting in courts, Congress, and state capitals and to "reclaim the ground" lost to past restrictions; Executive Vice President John Velleco credits the group's more than two million members and activists for its longevity.

Quick take

This is GOA's own retrospective, framed as a victory lap rather than independent reporting, so the specifics on what the group claims to have accomplished are worth weighing against other accounts of these same fights. Still, the NFA and pistol brace litigation it cites are active, concrete developments readers tracking gun-rights law should keep an eye on.

Read the full story: gunowners.org