As the NRA fades, a more zealous US pro-gun group rises as a lobbying power

Gun Owners of America, formed in belief NRA was too liberal', spent $3.3m lobbying against gun control and boasts 2m members

A zealous gun rights group, even more uncompromising than the once formidable National Rifle Association, is emerging as a force in US politics with a mission to oppose efforts at gun control and ease further America's already lax regulations on firearms.

Last year the Gun Owners of America (GOA) spent $3.3m on lobbying, a record sum for the hardline foe of gun control that now claims over 2 million members and activists, and has previously operated in the shadows of the larger NRA.