@Ronald45, first, thank you for letting me know how you feel. Your feedback will definitely be shared by those who are in charge of responding to these situations.
Next, I can assure you, that your membership does have your back until the end of your current membership year. If you were to have a self-defense incident in that time, we do have your back. Notifications go out a month ahead of the end of your membership.
Why didn’t we notify you earlier? I believe it was because we were hoping to have a solution by now.
We have a team of experts and attorneys working on Washington and New York options on a daily basis. As we’ve all seen in the past, when attorneys and politicians are involved it doesn’t always go as smoothly as we hope.
The decision to stop selling membership in NY and WA was not an easy one. Here’s what I’m able to share:
We’re currently under investigation by the state of Washington’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner. In its preliminary findings, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner has taken the position that certain USCCA member benefits are illegal and against public policy. We totally disagree with their position and have responded to them accordingly. But, until the investigation is over, we have chosen to stop doing business in Washington to mitigate any fines and penalties they will assess and to preserve and protect our overall membership community.
We’re doing everything we can to find a solution that will get you a membership again. It is a priority of everyone here at the USCCA from Tim on down to find a way to get you protected by us ASAP. We aren’t waiting to hear a result from the investigation…we’re working right now to find a way to get you protection no matter what the investigation ends up saying. But we have to hold off on making new memberships or renewing current members in Washington until we discover that solution.
I know this information doesn’t change the situation. We share your frustration, but we do have your back until the end of your membership. You will still have access to the Community and other USCCA training resources after the expiration of your membership.
You are right, our mission is to educate, train and provide legal protection to responsibly armed Americans. We are diligently working to be able to do that in all 50 states again as soon as we possibly can.
Would it be beneficial us to WA state residents to send letters to state officials? If so, are there certain officials that should be prioritized? And is there a letter drawn up that we could use to send to said officials?
I believe that people have been sending letters to the Washington state insurance commissioner - but we don’t have anything that the USCCA has written up as a form letter.
I just got a call from the USCCA today to inform me about this situation. The complete lack of information in regards to the litigation that may; or may not be in process, is frustrating to say the least. This is very clearly an attempt to intimidate honest citizenry out of carrying a weapon for self defense. They cannot attack our 2nd amendment directly enough, and so they erode it from every obtuse angle their tyrannical minds can conjure.
I’m disheartened to see the complete breakdown of law, order, and sense in WA state. As the crime increases in the state due to the complete failure of government polices. As the cowardly police stand down and follow unconstitutional orders to withhold enforcement. As laws are passed to infringe on our Bill of rights, not only our 2nd, but 1-10th amendments. As all of this breakdown occurs in society, and we are forcefully denied services in a two party consenting transaction using legal tender.
They keep pushing, and they are going to push us of the cliff, to dash our skulls on the rocks, and have our souls washed out to sea.
Wife and I just renewed for another year. Thankfully we don’t live in Washington state. Unfortunately my brother and nephew do. They are beside themselves with no coverage as of this date.
As a USCCA Member, Instructor, and Affiliate. I feel completely useless here in WA. I’m also left in the dark of what is going on with the State and the USCCA. Reading through this forum I see that the little information I was given is contradicted by the OIC response to the public.
If I live outside of WA I can have coverage if I travel in to Washington? If I currently have membership I will be covered. If the Membership is illegal in the State then using it’s coverage in the State is also illegal. You not only have given the Members a false sense of security through this year by not informing all of us day one of this situation. But are continuing to keep all of us in the dark of what is really going on.
You say you are working on a way to get us membership back, I doubt it. Refund everyone’s membership for this year. Keep them active in what there membership covered. Don’t throw them out (of parts of the portal), and yes you did throw us out. Don’t just walk away from WA and NY, and yes you did. Actually be proactive in the right way, by fighting for us, with us. Instead of being proactively not selling Memberships.
I’m losing hope for the USCCA. I was proud to talk to everyone about being a Instructor and Affiliate for you. I haven’t been advertising classes for a while and will most likely lose my status as an instructor. There is no point in being an Affiliate for me now.
@Matthew25, thank you for expressing your concerns and giving me a chance to respond.
I am very sorry you’re losing hope for the USCCA. We are working very hard to find a solution to the situation. We have teams of attorneys working on this, we are not sitting idly by. If you’ve ever dealt with a legal situation, you have probably seen how slowly the legal process moves - and not for lack of trying.
Why didn’t we tell everyone right away? Because we were hoping that the resolution would have been faster than it’s taking - we were optimistic there would be a faster resolution. I think that’s why we didn’t tell everyone right away.
Current members are covered until the end of their membership year. We are not able to renew at that point. So if you live in Washington and are currently a member and have self-defense incident, you would be covered.
The issue is selling memberships in the state. That is what we cannot do at this point. Those who live outside of the state of Washington can use their benefits in the state of Washington because they were not purchased there.
As an instructor, I would encourage you to continue teaching people how to concealed carry. You’re helping people to best be able to defend themselves and their loved ones with a firearm. Help people utilize their Second Amendment rights. Just because there is a legal battle going on about USCCA membership doesn’t mean people should stop learning and training.
I know this isn’t the answer you wanted. I wish I had the answer you wanted, but I don’t. We want to be able to help all responsibly armed Americans and are diligently fighting to get to a position where we can do that again!
Thank you for responding, I’m in a more unique spot then most in this. I thought becoming an Affiliate and an Instructor I was joining a family that held my values. I still feel our values are the same. But since this happen I have realized I am just a subordinate in a corporation. Departmentalized and left in the dark like all the others.
The legal team. Are they working on a lawsuit or are they bowing down and changing wording?
The 2nd Amendment. Concealed Carry is a preference that people choose. I do not teach it to “allow” people to utilize the 2A. We need to stop allowing people to push on the 2A and we need to push back. My personal belief is the 2A is the end all “permit”, no laws restricting it. I teach to give people safety and respect of the tool they use. If I could do it for free I would, I would get more students too. Because of WA’s I-1639 a poliferation of 2 hour free classes make it hard to sell the quality instruction at my cost.
@Matthew25, you did join the USCCA family and we do share your beliefs about helping everyone defend themselves. We all want to help people educate, train and defend themselves.
I do not have all of the details as I am not involved in that part of the situation. As with families, we all have our ”chores” so to speak and mine is to help educate and train people through the Community. I don’t want to do the lawyers “chores” (no thank you!) and they don’t want to do mine (unless they’re @MikeBKY ).
Does that mean that what the attorneys do is more important than what the educators do? I don’t think it does. We all have our position in our family and I choose to do it to the best of my ability because what I do is important - I’m helping protect lives - just like you are, @Matthew25.
Man I’m right there with you Matt. I too am an instructor with the USCCA. And just seeing the responses thus far it’s disheartening. Feels like there is not hope and like you said 1639 offered check off a box classes no one is interested in our “high prices” compared.
We have been so slow since 1639 and because the uscca chose to withdraw, being an affiliate means pretty much nothing either. The education market is absolutely dead in WA when it comes to firearms training since 1639. Everyone just wants some quick fix to the red tape to be put up.
I completely understand that, @Taylor5. The way I look at it is putting a bandaid on a bullet wound is a quick fix, but it doesn’t really fix the situation. Legal red tape may not be a bullet wound, but it can have serious consequences if it’s not handled correctly.
I cannot imagine the frustration, but we are working diligently to find a solution that will hold up to all of the red tape scrutiny.
Today’s where we part ways my plan is up. I really do hope USCCA stays to fight this in our state as other companies are, it would help restore my faith. After being booted from the grandfathered in silver tier however, I doubt I would come back on the much higher cost gold tier even if things change. I wish you guys luck and hope you make the right choice.
Just read this thread after having received a phone call from USCCA re: loss of membership benefits. My disappointment and frustration in losing my protections under the USCCA umbrella pale in comparison to my anger at the state of Washington in general, and the insurance commissioner in particular. WA has steadily and egregiously become a state where individual liberty gets stomped on; the OIC being just another in a long line of state entities/office/agencies that continue to enact ever-restrictive, liberty-crushing laws and policies.
Listening to Larson’s interview with Kreidler further cemented my already firm belief that the IC has to be, outside of Jay Inslee, the most obtuse public official in Olympia.
Hoping that behind the scenes there is an overwhelming legal response to this, given that Kreidler himself admits that his interpretation is solely based on the assumption that ANY use of force is ILLEGAL, and therefore “qualifies” as insuring criminal behavior. I have no idea if there have been any steps taken in this manner, but … perhaps a class action suit could be filed alongside the NRA, Lockton Affinity, and any other entity that the OIC has targeted … which of course, in the end, is we as individuals.
).
