The firearms marketplace overflows with potential goodies you can give and receive for Christmas, but if you stand prepared to defend your life or that of others, there is one thing you need more than anything else…
by Rob Reaser
Pretty much everyone loves the holiday season. Whether you satisfy the “feel goods” by giving to family and friends or take the opportunity get something special for yourself, it’s all good. As practitioners of personal defense, though, I’ll argue that nothing is more important outside of reliable equipment, solid training, and a cool head than legal protection in the event of a self-defense incident.
As we have seen several times these past few years, there are far too many prosecutors and even judges who seem to assume an antagonistic posture towards private citizens defending themselves or those around them during a violent encounter. An incident in Rural Town, USA that a county prosecutor might quickly dismiss in a self-defense incident as “justifiable homicide” based on the initial facts could, in another area of the country, be rigorously pursued by a prosecutor with the goal of conviction for manslaughter.
In short, any defense encounter presents a roll of the dice for the defender. In a defensive situation, there may be many variables at play that open paths for a prosecutor to leverage criminal charges against the defendant — variables that may be difficult or impossible for the defender to consider in the heat of a life-or-death confrontation. That is why avoidance or retreat are always your best first lines of defense.
A flippant refrain we often hear in our community is that it is “better to be judged by 12 than carried by six.” True enough. Nevertheless, in the hands of a skillful and determined prosecutor, there is no telling which way the judgement of the 12 will go in a self-defense trial. And the odds that you will see a jury trial in a self-defense encounter are extremely high.
As mentioned earlier…a roll of the dice. And regardless of how things go, you are likely to be saddled with a devastating financial burden to mount your legal defense. In fact, you should expect it.
This is why anyone who has made the conscious decision to defend themselves or others should the situation arise needs to secure a legal defense policy.
For several years now, I have carried a Premium Individual membership with Firearms Legal Protection out of Dallas, Texas. This is one of three membership plans FLP offers, the other two being the Individual Basic and the Family Premium (covers your spouse and all minor children). Memberships are offered on a monthly or annual basis. At $27.95 a month, I get the Individual Premium membership for the cost of two fast food lunches. That is a miniscule price to pay considering the financial stress of paying out-of-pocket legal expenses, bail bond, private investigator and expert witness fees, lost wages, incident clean-up, firearm confiscation, record expungement, and any other costs associated with a legal defense and settlement. FLP offers among the best, if not the best, coverage plans in the industry as far as I can tell.
In preparation for this article, I contacted FLP to see if they could share with Shoot ON readers a recent “this happened to me” example of an FLP member being successfully defended against a difficult criminal charge. The one they provided me with turned out to be a challenging case from the member/defendant’s point of view.
It involved an alleged road rage incident wherein the defendant was charged with brandishing a weapon. Reading through the full transcript of the first trial (there were two trials), it was evident to me that the case hinged upon defendant and witness credibility. As I absorbed the minutia presented by both sides, I could understand how the case would be difficult for a jury to come to a unanimous decision.
Here is the thumbnail version provided to us through an email interview with the defendant:
“On [date redacted], I was driving on [location redacted], at which point a driver by the name of [name redacted] started to road rage on me.
“I was brake-checked twice, and he tried to run me into a wall. I raced away from him to seek refuge so I could call the police; however, he pursued me the entire way. Luckily, I spotted a [location redacted] police officer parked in the opposite lane of traffic, sitting there with his radar gun out. I approached him and explained that I was being pursued by a road rager.
“He [the officer] spun around and pulled over Mr. [name redacted]. Mr. [name redacted] provided a false statement, telling him [the officer] that I had pointed my gun at him, and I was subsequently arrested by the police.
“During the road rage incident, the gun, which was situated between the passenger seat and the console, started to slip out when I was being brake-checked and I grabbed the gun before it fell on the passenger seat floorboard. When I grabbed it, my assailant brake-checked me again, immediately, and proceeded to force me into the retaining wall. I had to grab the steering wheel with both hands with my gun in hand to prevent me from going over the wall and falling about 30 feet.”
The first trial at which the Firearms Legal Protection-contracted attorney represented the defendant resulted in a mistrial due to the state failing to release requested evidence to the defense in a timely manner and for ignoring an open records request for highway surveillance video the defense argued would back up the defendant’s testimony.
The second trial began a little over two months later. This time, the FLP-contracted attorney’s efforts resulted in an acquittal of all charges for the FLP member and sealing of the court records.
Ending our interview, the defendant explained, “Thank God I had the foresight to have Firearms Legal Protection. I had acquired it during my licensing class for my CCL. Although I saved a king’s ransom in fees, I still am responsible for approximately $2,000, which is nothing but a drop in a bucket if I had to pay out of my pocket for everything.”
As this incident reveals, FLP membership casts a broad net of legal coverage. The primary coverage offered by FLP is any self-defense incident wherein a legal weapon is used by a member.
As an FLP representative explained to us, “Essentially, if you use something (classified as a legal weapon in that state) to defend yourself, you’re covered.
“On a side note, our Claims department always seeks ways to ensure coverage for our members. We’re not the kind of company that looks for loopholes to deny coverage. If it’s a clear-cut self-defense case, we’ll cover them. However, our contract specifies the use of a legal weapon to help us avoid situations like bar fights, which is why we don’t explicitly state we cover hand-to-hand even though, like I said, we make sure to find ways to cover our members and to do right by our members.”
In addition to incidents involving legal weapons for self-defense, FLP membership also covers representation for cases involving Extreme Risk Protection Orders — also known as “red flag laws,” which are becoming an increasingly troublesome and contentious issue for 2nd Amendment rights activists — and criminal record expungement, among other services.
For a more complete understanding of FLP coverage and limitations, check out the company’s state-by-state sample agreements.
Fortunately, I have never had to avail myself of FLP’s services, and sincerely hope that I never do. It does, though, give me much comfort knowing that my back is covered on the legal defense front should I ever be involved in a legally armed situation. Given the lack of even-handedness in our current judicial system (perhaps it has always been thus?), I would feel as vulnerable carrying a gun without legal protection as I would not carrying a gun at all.
And that is why a solid legal protection membership, like those offered by Firearms Legal Protection, is the best gift you can give or get this year.
