Larry Pratt
Guns dot com
Lobbyist group Gun Owners of America raised issues with a recent article by Guns.com that discussed a shift in mainstream gun politics when presidential hopeful Ted Cruz said he was “honored” to be endorsed by the group.
The specific issues raised by GOA was our reference calling the group “controversial” because of connections and alleged connections to hate groups. The group penned an open letter to Guns.com — but never actually sent it to Guns.com — claiming inaccuracies.
To be clear, the article did not explicitly state that GOA was a hate group nor its executive director, Larry Pratt, a racist. However, because of accusations brought about by the lobbyist group and its members, we reviewed key details in the report that supported calling it “controversial,” particularly when compared to the much larger National Rifle Association.
Last September, GOA made headlines when it submitted an amicus brief challenging mandatory sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act. This was controversial because the defendant in the case was Samuel Johnson, a convicted felon, repeat violent offender, and known neo-Nazi who had been accused of plotting terrorist attacks.
