Understanding Legal Defense Funds
When a person is forced to defend themselves with a firearm, the aftermath is often rife with uncertainty and concern, especially when legal issues begin to arise. One of the best ways to prepare for these legal challenges is through a plan that offers comprehensive legal support. Legal Network Memberships (which operate much like insurance policies) contain the fundamentals of this preparation and peace of mind . The most popular legal plan options for gun owners are the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network (ACLDN) and the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA). Each organization has a slightly different approach to legal protection, offering a distinct set of benefits for their members. Immediately after a self-defense incident, understanding these membership benefits is important. Knowing where and how to turn for help (and what that help can provide) can make all the difference.
An Overview of the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network
Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network provides information and legal options for their members who face a self-defense case. They have a two-prong mission of prevention and legal support. On the prevention side they have courses, instructional videos, and book recommendations that serve as a way of improving lawyer, preparation, and self-defense skills. As for the legal support aspect they have links to local criminal defense attorneys, expert witnesses, and self defense instructors in their directory. They’ll help fund select cases, review member cases, screen member cases, and provide media support in cases where they financially support the legal defense.
Examining USCCA
The United States Concealed Carry Association, or USCCA, goes back to 2003. It is a non-profit organization and primarily handles training and education, with additional options for support against criminal and civil charges related to self-defense situations.
USCCA’s education focus includes issuing training materials, sourcing training videos, and facilitating access to training centers and classes. The website is somewhat unique in that it targets a consumer audience in addition to teaching and resources for professionals. The USCCA’s publications target consumers of guns and gear.
Like a handful of other criminal defense services, USCCA also offers some insurance policy options. These mostly cover legal expenses related to a claim of the justifiable use of force in a self-defense setting. Legal coverage comes with membership, although one has to enroll within 30 days of new firearms ownership. The fees for the policy will depend on the desired level of coverage, but there is no difference in policy for a concealed carry weapon versus a firearm carried open by a permit holder.
When it comes to payments related to the defense of a legal claim, the USCCA generally pays for both a criminal and civil claim arising out of a use of force where self-defense is a part of the claim. The co-pay for participation is around $250, although this varies depending on the level of membership and how long a participant has been a member.
As with other services, USCCA recommends members not speak with police without first consulting with an attorney first.
Much of what is covered on the site mirrors the educational and research efforts of many state-level gun owners’ groups. Because the USCCA is national and a relatively new service, it may not have the same depth of knowledge that more mature local groups do.
Legal Coverage and Defense Services Comparison
In this section, we will take a closer look at how Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network and USCCA compare when it comes to legal coverage and support.
Legal Support
When comparing legal support, we see that both organizations focus on immediate legal representation when it is needed most. However, they do differ in their scopes. ACLDN offers 24/7 attorney support to all of its members. In addition to the immediate access to counsel, ACLDN also arranges for other legal issues they may encounter through its member newsletter. They offer many of these legal aid services for free. ACLDN’s goal is to ensure that its members have legal counsel by the start of any investigation. While USCCA offers similar 24/7 attorney support services, it takes more of a preventative approach to legal matters. Instead of offering free legal services up front, they ask their members to purchase a self-defense liability protection legal package in order to be covered. Legal contracts only kick in if the insured’s report of a self-defense situation is found to be substantiated, at which time the organization will review the case to confirm that it falls under legal coverage. If the person they insured is found to have acted reasonably with the use of self-defense, then legal contracts with high quality legal representation are arranged. While the support offered by ACLDN and USCCA is similar, there are some important differences. Below, we compare how much legal coverage is offered by both organizations.
Bail Coverage
When it comes to covering bail, USCCA and ACLDN again differ slightly. ACLDN provides their members up to $150,000 for criminal defense bail bond coverage. This amount is made available to members within 24 hours of an incident and sometimes as soon as the very next day. USCCA does not offer a fixed amount for bail coverage. Instead, they will pay all bail and attorney’s fees maximums on your behalf, however the cost of the bail is up to 300% of the top bond sets on the charge or charges. Some USCCB representatives have told members to expect up to $100,000 for immediate bail coverage.
Legal Advice
Both ACLDN and USCCA offer legal advice for self-defense situations, but the approach each organization takes is a bit different. ACLDN calls up the person in need of legal advice within 24 hours of their incident and continues to follow-up with them for several months afterwards to make sure they are receiving proper care. USCCA makes a call to the member immediately after they contact them directly when they are involved in a self-defense situation. USCCA will continue to contact their member periodically to check in on their well being and progress in their recovery.
Membership Pricing and Advantages
Membership in the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network is available for $135, with a follow-up annual that is renewable for as long as the member wish to stay involved. Members who join the ACE Membership will be subject to an annual membership fee of $85, with the same renewal terms.
A member of the USCCA – US Concealed Carry Association can expect to pay roughly $147 for a member’s level and $186 for a thumb drive membership. A person that signs up for a full membership will be of a $397 with a $497 fee for a premium membership. Members have three years of membership with renewal options available thereafter.
Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network offers numerous benefits for its members including 24/7 access to legal hotline services, and online materials available to aid in self-defense cases and more. When it comes to USCCA, a member will often find similar options that the USCCA provides. A member gains access to experts phone lines, but they will also receive a magazine subscription that includes self-defense content.
Training and Education Resources
Both organizations provide various levels of training for members, including referrals of trainers. The USCCA sponsors their own training programs, some of which are specific to members to increase member engagement and to provide higher levels of training for members of the concealed carry community. A few USCCA trainers have held classes specifically targeted at Responder, Protector, Advocate, and Defender Membership. The USCCA also provides various training videos, which are available to non-members.
Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network provides access to its own training programs in addition to its membership benefits, which include a free educational DVD . This training focuses on the Armed Citizens Network Defense Seminar and is conducted twice a year in the U.S. by attorney and former sheriff’s deputy Marty Hayes and firearms instructor and member Andrew Branca, who teaches the Law of Self Defense Seminar, including interaction with on-site attorneys. The seminars receive positive reviews from attendees and have a strong online following.
As discussed, USCCA and Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network provide disparate options for trainer referrals and training resources. USCCA provides national referrals and other resources, while Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network provides a narrower range of local and state referrals.
USCCA Reviews and Member Experiences
While industry ratings can be useful, customer reviews and ratings are a more robust way of understanding product performance over a longer period of time and are key to making an informed buying decision. Here we discuss the general reputation of Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network and USCCA, based on customer reviews. Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network has one hundred and ninety reviews on Consumer Affairs with an overall rating of three point five stars and five hundred and thirty-six on Ratingbird with an overall rating of four point eight stars. Most reviews from consumers on the Better Business Bureau give G&A Munitions LLC a four out of five star rating. On Google, Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network has an overall rating of four point eight out of five stars. USCCA Ratings and Reviews has a total of two hundred and thirty-six reviews on Consumer Affairs with a three out of five-star rating. On Consumer Report, customers only gave USCCA one-star reviews. On Better Business Bureau, they currently have no reviews. However, USCCA does have an overall rating on Google of four point nine out of five stars.
Finding the Right Network for Your Needs
When it comes to selecting between the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network (ACLDN) and the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), there are many factors a gun owner should consider. Here is a comprehensive list of factors to consider, both for armed citizens and their families:
Attitude towards armed citizens.
What are the mission and purpose of the organization? Are they focused on criminalizing armed citizens or on ensuring their right to self defense?
Membership preferences.
Will your family be protected by the plan? How many members can be added?
Geographic coverage.
Is the coverage nationwide? How simple is it to access legal professionals in your region of the country?
Access to expertise.
Are the network’s leaders experts in armed citizen defense law? Does the network have a full-time staff of legal experts, or do they rely heavily on volunteers?
Peace of mind.
How confident will you be if you are involved in a legal incident with USCCA or ACLDN on your side to provide legal counsel and licensed defense attorneys? Do you know any of their leaders personally and are they local to you?
Financial resources.
Are the costs of joining and maintaining membership reasonable for the member’s family needs?
Like most gun owners, I’ve long been a member of USCCA. Those defensive measures we all put into place include our choice of USCCA, or a similar organization. As I paid my renewal for another year, I realized that it was time to check out what else was new with USCCA. Are they still the preeminent defensive protection organization for armed citizens, or has another organization, like who has prevailed in the concealed carry court trials for over a decade, taken the lead?
Summary
In this comparison article we have covered the member benefits and the differences in opinions between Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network and USCCA.
Which is better?
That is a question that only you can answer. As you can see from above each network has its strengths and weaknesses. Here is what I would suggest that the answer would be for you. If you are new to self-defense insurance and are a casual civilian, your best bet is USCCA. They will get you up and running quickly and on solid footing. Their insurance policy seems to be above reproach. Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network is only for people who have been carrying for more than a year and are ready to deal with court filings , interviews and things that are above what most people will face. If you do not know what a motion in limine or Miranda Warning is, you should not use ACLDN yet. It is too much and you don’t know what you don’t know if this is all strange to you. As I said before, I am a member of both and will continue to be. Both groups have their own good and bad things about them. They also have their own niches that they service. I think they are both worthy and think they have their place within the community. The good news is that you can sign up for either or both with relatively little risk. The insurance contracts are pretty solid and you can’t go wrong either way.
