Hubert Leon “Bill” Richardson

1975 founded The Gun Owners of America (GOA)
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._L._Richardson

Larry Pratt

– 1976 – 2018 executive director Gun Owners of America
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Pratt

Erich Pratt

2018 – Executive Director for Gun Owners of America
– https://gunowners.org/erich-pratt.htm

Rachel Malone

2018 – Texas Director for Gun Owners of America

John Crump

2018 – VA State Director For GOA

The Daily Bullet – Rachel Malone – GOA Texas
Dec 2, 2020

About Gun Owners of America

Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a national gun rights lobbying organization headquartered in Springfield, Virginia. It was founded in the mid-1970s by California state senator H. L. “Bill” Richardson as a national spin-off of his state group, Gun Owners of California; GOA gives its founding year as 1975, while some references date its incorporation to November 1976. The organization describes itself as a no-compromise gun lobby, a label echoed by former Congressman Ron Paul, and it has publicly criticized other groups, including the NRA, when it views their positions as compromises on gun rights. GOA claims more than two million members and supporters.

Larry Pratt led GOA as executive director for roughly four decades, and his son Erich Pratt took on the top staff role around 2018. Richardson retired in 2017 and was succeeded as president and board chairman by Tim Macy; Richardson died in January 2020. GOA’s work is supported by two related entities: the Gun Owners Foundation, an educational nonprofit and research arm that holds seminars and runs gun safety messaging, and the Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund, a political action committee that backs pro-gun candidates. GOA remains active in Congress, in state legislatures and in the courts as of 2026.

Key Facts

Mid-1970s: Founded by California state senator H. L. Richardson (GOA cites 1975)
2017: Richardson retires; Tim Macy becomes president and board chairman
2018: Erich Pratt interviewed as GOA executive director, succeeding Larry Pratt
January 13, 2020: Founder H. L. Richardson dies at 92
Headquarters: Springfield, Virginia

Sources

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