GOA’s Top 13 in 2013

Political Friends & Foes speak to GOA’s influence last year

1. Refusing to compromise while defending the Second Amendment

“Gun Owners of America … has taken a hard line against any new gun controls.” — Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2013

“Gun Owners of America … doesn’t have the cash or the membership the NRA does, but its no-compromise stance keeps pressure on the NRA.” — National Public Radio, December 26, 2013

2. Mobilizing grassroots activists and flooding Capitol Hill

“Back in April [when gun control was defeated in the Senate], Gun Owners of America showed with one email alert that it could help flood the phone lines on Capitol Hill days before the Senate vote.” — National Public Radio, December 26, 2013

3. Defeating the Bloomberg anti-gun agenda despite being massively outspent

“Gun control groups [like Bloomberg’s MAIG] outspent groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America (GOA) at a rate of 7 to 1….  Yet even after this huge disparity in spending, White House efforts to strengthen gun control laws went nowhere.” — Breitbart, December 12, 2013

4. Being credited as THE GROUP that defeated gun control in 2013

“Democrats Blame ‘Gun Owners of America’ for Gun Control Setback.” — TPM, April 8, 2013

“According to conservative staffers, Gun Owners of America was the most active outside group in early efforts to block all gun control efforts.” — The Examiner, April 28, 2013

5. Frustrating the Democrats’ anti-gun agenda

“[Gun Owners of America] has complicated efforts to reach a solution on gun control legislation, top Democrats have said.” — TPM, April 8, 2013

6. Reminding Republicans that their constituents are pro-gun

“The group [GOA] has already been successful in both freezing senators, particularly Republicans, who have appeared to be on the fence about supporting bills to expand background checks.” — New York Times, April 3, 2013

“When Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, backed away from bipartisan talks to expand background checks earlier this year, he did so after Gun Owners of America and its members flooded the senator’s office with e-mails and phone calls.” — Slate, April 4, 2013

7. Getting under Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s skin

“Whenever the NRA tries to be reasonable, the Gun Owners of America becomes more unreasonable and that pushes the NRA. [Now] you’ve got Gun Owners of America which is way to the — I guess you would say the ‘right’ — of what the NRA is. It makes it hard for the NRA to be reasonable.” — Senator Harry Reid, April 6, 2013 on Nevada Public Radio

8. Emerging as an influential lobbying force

“While [GOA’s] bank account is relatively paltry … its members often get Tea Party loud, inundating lawmakers’ offices with calls.” — Slate, April 4, 2013

“Gun Owners of America, with its war chest, membership and lobbying strength dwarfed by the National Rifle Association, is emerging as an influential force ….” — New York Times, April 4, 2013

9. Opposing the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)

GOA has made it a goal to fight this anti-gun treaty — both in Congress and in the court of public opinion.  Said WorldNetDaily:  “[GOA’s Larry Pratt] contends that the U.N. has a terrible track record in protecting human life … [and] has no business deciding who should and should not have access to guns.”

When the Obama Administration signed this treaty last year, GOA sprang into action to circulate legislative language defunding any Obama effort to implement the ATT by executive fiat.  Thankfully, a defunding amendment was inserted into an appropriations bill, and that language was recently signed into law.

10. Working to defang the anti-gun ObamaCare mandate

“Gun Owners of America has called upon members to resist signing up for ObamaCare, citing what they claim are provisions within the law that will be used to disarm gun owners.” — BearingArms.com, November 4, 2013

11. Rallying grassroots to achieve stunning levels of support for CCW

“A conceal-carry amendment [pushed by GOA] received more votes, than the background check expansion [pushed by Senators Toomey and Manchin].” — New York Times, April 18, 2013

12. Irritating liberal media like CNN’s Piers Morgan

Gun Owners of America made hundreds of media appearances last year on radio, Internet, newspaper and TV — including several appearances on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.  After GOA’s Larry Pratt manhandled Piers Morgan during their first meeting, the CNN host resorted to name-calling — saying Pratt was an “idiot” and an “unbelievably stupid man.”  Cliff Kincaid, who watches for media bias, said that Pratt calmly and rationally took “the arrogant British host completely apart” and debunked every “tired liberal claim” about gun control.

13. Defending the rights of gun owners in court

Gun Owners of America has been involved in several court cases — including some before the U.S. Supreme Court.  One notable case occurred last year when we came to the aid of a teenager in West Virginia who wore a pro-gun T-shirt to school. 14-year-old Jared Marcum was suspended from school — and was later arrested for supposedly obstructing an officer.  All charges were dropped after GOA came to his defense.

“I can’t thank Larry Pratt and Gun Owners enough for standing with Jared and his family during these difficult days,” said Ben White, who is the attorney for Jared Marcum.  “You were there when we needed you.”