Questions most often asked about the Network include...

faq
If considering joining the network, you undoubtedly have questions!  We've compiled a fairly comprehensive list of those we've been asked. 

If you don't find the answer to your question, please contact us by clicking the "Contact" link above.


What is the Network's mission?
Does the Network extend charitable assistance to non-members?
Will the Network file a lawsuit to help me get my concealed carry license or help me get a prior criminal conviction overturned?
How can I get in touch with one of the Network's Affiliated Attorneys?
Does my membership in the Network provide insurance or prepaid legal fees to use if I must defend my actions in court?
Who may join?
What does it cost to join the Network?
What does my membership fee buy me?
How can I contact the Network?
Does the Network have a lifetime membership, family rates, or other discount plans for membership
Who establishes the direction the Armed Citizens' Legal Defense Network, Inc. takes?
I am currently embroiled in a lawsuit stemming from an assault against me. Will the Network help me if I join now?
Where is the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. located?
Is Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network a gun rights lobbying organization?
What is the relationship between the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. and The Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc.?
What doesn't the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc do?
Can I use my credit card to pay for Network membership?
Will the Network bill me when my membership expires? How many times will you bill me before my membership expires?
Can I join the Network if I am not currently living in the United States?
Didn't the Network once require prospective members to submit copies of their concealed carry licenses?

                        
What is the Network's mission?
The Network is a membership organization committed to the defense of its members should they be involved in a self-defense incident. This is accomplished through several support programs spelled out on the membership benefits page linked here. In addition, members receive regular educational programs, including a dozen video lecture set explaining use of deadly force for self defense, the legal aftermath of using a gun in self defense, and how attorneys prepare the court case defending one who used deadly force in self defense. A monthly journal is published online, with a variety of columns and articles pertinent to armed citizens.
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                       Does the Network extend charitable assistance to non-members facing legal problems?
No, the Network's financial support is limited to Network members. However, portions of our educational program are made freely available to non-members, including our monthly journals published online, plus our free booklet What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law, sent free of charge upon request. Request yours at https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/contact/request-a-booklet
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                       Will the Network file a lawsuit to help me get my concealed carry license or help me get a prior criminal conviction overturned?
No. The Network reserves its resources for the defense of its members after self defense and for the education of armed citizens to increase understanding of the legalities surrounding the use of deadly force in self defense.
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                       How can I get in touch with one of the Network's Affiliated Attorneys?
If you are a Network member, log in to this website (members who've lost their log in codes, please call 888-508-3404 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to have your membership codes emailed). Select the link marked "Affiliated Attorneys" from the menu on the left of the page shown following log in. If you are not a Network member, please understand that our agreement with Network Affiliated Attorneys is to give their name and contact information only to Network members, and not to the general public.
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                       Are Network membership benefits based on an insurance policy that will reimburse me for my expenses if I must defend my actions in court?
No. Network dues give members access to specific benefits. See "Membership Benefits" page by clicking here. Network benefits are specifically not an insurance program nor are they prepaid legal fees.
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                       Who may join?
The Network is comprised of armed citizens who attest that they are not legally prohibited from possessing firearms, signing a statement to that effect, and stating that they are 18 years of age or older and legally residing in the United States of America. Please see the text of the entire statement at this link.
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                       What does it cost to join the Network?
At $150 per year for an individual membership (3-year individual memberships cost $340) and $70 per year for each additional household member, the costs of yearly membership are a fraction of an attorney’s hourly fee! Renewals drop to $105 per year. By bringing together large numbers of armed citizens to support the efforts of the Network and its Legal Defense Fund, we aim to keep membership dues at affordable levels and membership benefits growing with each passing year. Thus supported, we hope our Network members feel able to exercise their legal right to self defense, knowing that if their actions draw legal scrutiny, they will not have to face that legal threat alone.
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                       What does my membership fee buy me?

• Fee deposit paid to the member’s attorney by the Network if the member has been involved in a self-defense incident to get the legal defense immediately underway, with representation during questioning, and arranging for an independent investigation of the incident. This is a membership benefit; the member is not asked to repay it.
• Bail assistance: The Network will work with the member to arrange for bail, after the member has used force in legitimate self defense. In addition, the member and his or her attorney must provide facts of the case to show that their use of force was a legitimate case of self defense. The member’s attorney is responsible for providing those details to the Network prior to disbursement of monies to a bail agent.
• Current Network members defending against unmeritorious prosecution or civil litigation after a self-defense incident occurring during their period of membership are also eligible for additional grants of financial assistance for legal fees from the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Fund.
• In addition, the Network builds on a nationwide network of affiliated attorneys and legal experts upon which the member can draw in the event of a self-defense shooting. See our Affiliates page for current information on this benefit. Members' attorneys can also request case review by one of the Network’s experts, paid for by the Network, with findings and advice forwarded to the member’s lawyer.

Other membership benefits include:
-Video lectures by major players in the justifiable use of deadly force field sent each new member. These include programs covering pre-assault indicators and how they influence the self defense decision-making process, and a video in which well-recognized experts including Dennis Tueller, Massad Ayoob, Tom Givens and John Farnam present segments, as well as lectures from Massad Ayoob on witness dynamics and aftermath issues, to name only a few. Enjoy previews at https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/learn/member-education-commitment .
-Access to the Network’s expert witnesses.
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                       How can I contact the Network?
The Network’s comprehensive web site provides information and answers to your questions 24/7. Please address general questions and comments via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you require an immediate response, members are invited to telephone the Network at 1-888-508-3404 Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific time. After hours calls by members for assistance in obtaining legal counsel after self defense may be made to the emergency number provided on the back of the membership card.
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                       Does the Network have a lifetime membership, family rates, or other discount plans for membership dues?
Members may add other members residing in their household to their individual membership for $70 per year per person and 3-Year Individual Membership are available for $340. It is the earnest goal of the Network to keep membership dues affordable for all our members, who come from various social and economic strata. Instead of spending time tracking who deserves which discount, we work hard to keep rates as low as possible for all members, while collecting enough in dues to fulfill our mission—that of keeping decent, law-abiding men and women out of court after they were forced to defend themselves against criminal attack.
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         Who establishes the direction the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network takes?

The Network was founded and is led by Marty Hayes, J.D., a career police officer, who also led his training organization, The Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc. to regionally-prominent standing in the Pacific Northwest. In founding the Network, Hayes is joined by Vincent Shuck, retired from his position as executive director of a national non-profit organization. Day-to-day-operations of the Network is the purview of Gila Hayes, a name you may recognize as author of numerous articles in gun magazines and several books. For more information about each of these Network founders, click the link "Network Leadership" at the upper left of this page.
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                       I am currently embroiled in a lawsuit stemming from an assault against me. Will the Network help me if I join?
Network benefits are available to current members in good standing only for incidents occurring during their membership; benefits including case review by Network experts, access to Network affiliated attorneys and experts, as well as the ability to apply for financial assistance from the Armed Citizens’ Network's legal defense fund. These are reserved for active members only and do not include pre-existing legal issues.
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                       Where is the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. located?
The Network exists in cyberspace, but the physical offices are located in Centralia, WA, approximately 100 miles south of Seattle, WA and 100 miles north of Portland, OR. Our office hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday reflect Pacific Standard time zone.
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                       Is the Network a gun rights lobbying organization?
Certainly the Network shares many concerns with the larger gun rights lobbying groups like Gun Owners of America, Second Amendment Foundation, the Firearms Policy Coalition and more, but our mission is specific to providing for legal defense needs stemming from self defense by Network members. Because the larger gun rights lobbying groups are well established, well funded, and performing the mission for which they exist, the Network will not involve itself in legislative concerns, concentrating instead on specific needs of Network members for education and legal support.
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                       What is the relationship between the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. and The Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc.?
The Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. operates completely independently of The Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc. Network president, Marty Hayes, was also founder of The Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc. and has since sold the school. The two businesses have no financial connection.
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                       What does the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. not do?
• While we recognize the critical import of lobbying, the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. is not a legislative lobbying organization. There are several prominent organizations better experienced, funded and equipped to perform that function.

• The Network is not a law firm. We do not represent Network members; we bring together member attorneys and expert witnesses so they can work together for the members' benefit.

The Network does not provide firearms training. The Network enjoys the support of many, many firearms trainers, and it is our mission to encourage Network members to obtain as much training and education as possible from these experts, and negotiate tuition discounts to make that goal more attainable.
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                       Can I use my credit card to pay for Network membership?
The Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. is set up to process credit card payments from VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. In addition, we accept personal checks and money orders for payment of Network membership dues.
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                       Will the Network bill me when my membership expires? How many times will you bill me before my membership expires?
Network members receive expiration notifications by email and USPS mail notification prior to membership expiration. Once membership has expired, members are mailed a final notification that benefits are no longer available. Upon expiration, access to the members-only portions of the Network web site is blocked, and other membership benefits are no longer available.
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                       Can I join the Network if I am not currently living in the United States?
Network benefits are only available to U.S. citizens or persons otherwise legal to possess firearms in the United States of America.
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Didn't the Network once require prospective members to submit copies of their concealed carry licenses?
Yes, during our first year, we asked members to show proof of no criminal history through copies of their carry licenses. The measure proved excessively exclusionary, in light of many law-abiding American gun owners who do not carry concealed, an issue most frequently raised when an individual member wanted their spouse to have the benefits of Network membership. Other circumstances, like living in parts of California, Hawaii and other states stood in the way of prospective members who wanted to support Network efforts with their membership. After consultation with the Armed Citizens' Legal Defense Network's Advisory Board we elected to replace this requirement with a statement each prospective member signs attesting they are not prohibited from possessing firearms, are 18 or older, and more. See membership application at this link.

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