Sam Paredes - Gun Owners of California Executive Director
Sam Paredes has been with Gun Owners of California for over 43 years, currently serving as Executive Director, a position he has held since 1998. He is also a member of the Board of Directors and Secretary/Treasurer of Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation and serves as a national spokesman for both organizations.
GOC is a non-profit lobbying organization formed to protect and preserve our Second Amendment rights in California. Paredes is a registered lobbyist, has testified in hundreds of legislative committee hearings and has advocated on behalf of the gun community before the California Fish and Game Commission, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Justice.
Paredes has been interviewed by virtually every California news outlet as well as national and international media such as Fox News, ABC World News Tonight, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Univision, Telemundo, the Larry Elder Show, Al Jazeera and the BBC (Britain and Australia) as an expert on gun laws in the Golden State. He is a frequent guest on national podcasts, is a popular speaker on the 2nd Amendment and has conducted numerous workshops on “Confrontational Politics” throughout the country. He also formerly served as the co-host of Sacramento’s “Just Guns” radio show.
In addition to his work with GOC, Paredes was appointed by California Governors George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson, serving in both administrations in the Trade and Commerce Agency.
Born in Los Angeles to immigrant parents, Sam is the second of three children. He attended Pepperdine University on scholarship and graduated with a degree in political science; he also studied at the Foundation for Economic Education in New York.
Sam is a certified firearms instructor, an avid outdoorsman and enjoys all shooting sports, hunting, fishing, golfing and traveling. He has served as a volunteer firefighter and as a board member of his local fire protection district in El Dorado County. He is the father of three children and grandfather to an ever growing brood of grandkids. He lives with his wife Laurie in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
GOC is the oldest pro-gun political action committee in the United States of America, having been at the forefront of the battle since assaults on the 2nd Amendment began. GOC functions as a 501(c)4 non-profit and operates exclusively from membership contributions and donations, utilizing funds to actively educate on issues and candidates. Employing a strong, three-pronged approach to beating back the assault on the Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, GOC is involved in the following:
- Fighting full-time in the legislative halls, serving as a critical resource to policy makers.
- Fighting in the courts – in California and across the nation, having filed amicus briefs in California and other states as well as before the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Fighting at the ballot box – raising money to elect pro-gun candidates and to defeat the bad guys.
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