Gun Owners of America (GOA) is holding its annual Gun Owners Advocacy and Leadership Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend.
In addition to participants discussing Second Amendment topics, perusing vendors’ goods and services in the exhibit hall, reviewing the past year and mapping out plans for the coming year, GOA is also celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Erich Pratt, GOA’s senior vice president, said the group is dedicated to a single issue: Second Amendment rights. He said that was the vision of GOA’s founder, the late California State Sen. H.L. Richardson, and it fuels GOA today.
GOA was founded in 1976 after Richardson left the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA’s multi-layered mission focuses mainly on firearms safety, marksmanship, and promoting the shooting sports, in addition to the Second Amendment. …