SPRINGFIELD, Va. — (AmmoLand.com) — While working on a piece for United States Concealed Carry Association’s “Concealed Carry Magazine,” I had a great chat with Erich Pratt. Pratt is the Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America.
We discussed everything from Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act., to grassroots activism, to the organization’s plans for 2026. Pratt also sussed out the differences between their 501(c)(4) parent organization, Gun Owners of America; and their sister group, Gun Owners Foundation, a 501(c)(3).
Our conversation was mid-2025, so some of the material is dated. However, if you want to watch it in full, you can check it out HERE or in the embed above. There’s plenty to take in and learn about GOA.
Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation
Gun Owners of America is a 501(c)(4) lobby organization; Gun Owners Foundation, the 501(c)(3), is used for their litigation efforts.
“The way we’re set up under IRS rules, we are a lobby organization, and that’s different than the Foundation, which, by law, can only spend up to 20% of our funds lobbying,” Pratt explained. “Typically, GOF, Gun Owners Foundation doesn’t do lobbying. That’s our arm that is involved in the courts and funds legal cases.”
California State Senator H.L. Bill Richardson founded the organization in 1976. Pratt said California was still considered a red state when GOA was formed.
“He was a stalwart, no compromise defender of the Second Amendment,” is how Pratt described Richardson. “In that vein, we’ve always been no compromise and are trying to repeal every anti gun law on the books.”
The Big Beautiful Bill Act.
2025’s Big Beautiful Bill Act was all the talk of the town last year. There were a lot of moving pieces to getting that legislation across the finish line. Gun Owners of America was part of a multi-organizational coalition of groups that worked to lobby Congress on different provisions of the bill.
“At first, all they wanted to do was repeal the $200 tax on the suppressors, but they still wanted to leave it in the NFA, which means the registration and all that goes along with that; the waiting periods, etc.” Pratt explained. “We said, ‘No, no, no.’ We just melted their phone lines. I mean, so much so we had reports they were turning off the phones in the House of Representatives.”
The bill was changed during reconciliation. Registration provisions were removed from the final bill. However, the enacted version of the law did include the removal of the tax on short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns.
“The reason why we’re able to be effective in getting these things done is because we greatly utilize our grassroots and we consider them our partners in demanding that things get done,” Pratt said of the process.
Initiatives that GOA Has Worked on Recently
A lot has been accomplished between the combined lobbying efforts of Gun Owners of American and litigation efforts of the Foundation. Pratt gave a rundown on some of the projects, initiatives, and efforts the groups have engaged in recently.
- Joined with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to challenge the pistol brace rule
- Joined with Paxon again to challenge the engaged in the business rule
- Selectively targeted the enforcement of the zero tolerance against FFLs rules
Talks With The White House
All of the top five national Second Amendment advocacy groups and/or their sister organizations indicated they’re in talks with the White House or the Trump Administration in one manner or another. Gun Owners of America is no different.
“We’ve had conversations with the administration at all levels, from our own trips down to Mar-a-Lago to working with people at DOJ and the ATF,” Pratt said. “I mentioned the zero tolerance policy, that was one of the things that we’d been talking to them about. That was exciting to see — that reverse.”
And More…
Those were a few of the agenda items that Pratt and I talked about. If you’re interested in diving deeper in our conversation, learning about what they’re planning for 2026, and more, be sure to tune in. Hear what’s going on with one of America’s top Second Amendment groups directly.
About John Petrolino
John Petrolino is a US Merchant Marine Officer, writer, author of Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on General Gun Safety & Use and NRA certified pistol, rifle, and shotgun instructor living under and working to change New Jersey’s draconian and unconstitutional gun laws. You can find him on the web at www.johnpetrolino.com on twitter at @johnpetrolino, facebook at @thepenpatriot and on instagram @jpetrolinoiii .
