You NEED This If You Carry A Firearm (ft. Right To Bear)

John and Kaylee sit down with Frank and Perry from Right to Bear, the self-defense legal protection program born out of a conversation with Palmetto State Armory. Both guests are insurance agents by trade, 36 years in the business, and they explain how a question they asked PSA about protecting its own customer base turned into a company. They started Right to Bear as an insurance product, scrapped it after 30 days, and relaunched in July 2022 as a legal defense association. Membership runs $145 a year or $13 a month, and Frank and Perry make the case that it is the most cost-effective self-defense plan in the country. The bulk of the episode walks through exactly what a member gets. When you have a self-defense incident, you call an attorney-answered emergency hotline, so attorney-client privilege begins the second you pick up the phone. Right to Bear chose the non-insurance route to keep control of its claims decisions, and the guests describe a gray-area North Carolina case and a wrongfully charged Michigan police officer they both backed and won. They cover criminal and civil defense, explain why they cover the civil defense but not the judgment, and detail after-care: personal calls to members and up to 40 counseling sessions. Their chief program attorney, Kristen Keller out of Golden, Colorado, leads an attorney network the guests say is vetted for genuine belief in self-defense, not just another revenue source. From there the conversation widens into Second Amendment culture and government overreach. Kaylee and John press on gun-free zones, college campuses, DAs chasing wins, and the Alec Baldwin case, while Frank points to armed security for college presidents and entertainers as proof of "rules for thee and not for me." They mark a 20-year win for veterans in March over the VA fiduciary rule, frame GOA as the grassroots gun lobby funded by everyday members, and close on training, the "on ramp" to the Second Amendment, and personal responsibility. Frank and Perry point listeners to protectwithbear.com and the Right to Bear Association on social. Linksprotectwithbear.comQuestions this episode answers What is Right to Bear, and how did it grow out of a relationship with Palmetto State Armory? Right to Bear is a self-defense legal protection program founded by two longtime insurance agents after they asked Palmetto State Armory how it could protect its own customer base. They describe Palmetto State Armory as their parent company, and the conversation turned that idea into a standalone association. Why did Right to Bear move away from being an insurance product and become an association instead? The founders launched Right to Bear as an insurance product but scrapped it after 30 days, relaunching in July 2022 as a legal defense association. Staying out of insurance lets them keep control of their own claims decisions and cover members in gray-area cases rather than defer to an insurer. What happens when a member calls the hotline after a self-defense incident? The emergency hotline is answered directly by one of Right to Bear's attorneys, so attorney-client privilege begins the moment a member picks up the phone. That attorney-answered line is central to how the program responds to an incident. How much does a Right to Bear membership cost? Membership is $145 a year or $13 a month. The founders argue it is the most cost-effective self-defense plan in the country. Does Right to Bear cover both criminal and civil defense, and what is the limit on the civil side? Right to Bear covers both criminal and civil defense for a self-defense incident. On the civil side it covers the cost of the defense but not any judgment awarded against the member. What after-care and counseling does a member get following an incident? After an incident, members get personal calls from Right to Bear and access to up to 40 counseling sessions if they need them. The program treats post-incident support as part of what membership includes. How does Right to Bear vet and select the attorneys in its network? Right to Bear's attorney network is led by chief program attorney Kristen Keller out of Golden, Colorado, and is vetted for genuine belief in self-defense rather than treating cases as just another revenue source. What was the 20-year veterans win in March, and how did it change the VA fiduciary rule? The founders mark a 20-year fight that ended in a March win for veterans tied to the VA fiduciary rule. They frame it as a long-sought change benefiting veterans, alongside their support of Gun Owners of America as the grassroots gun lobby funded by everyday members. Chapters 00:00 — Meet Frank and Perry from Right to Bear 00:19 — The backstory: insurance agents and Palmetto State Armory 01:22 — From insurance product to legal defense association 04:25 — What happens when you call the hotline 06:54 — After-support and up to 40 counseling sessions 09:59 — Addressing fears about government and coverage 13:23 — Why they chose the non-insurance route 16:05 — How attorneys are vetted and selected 21:38 — DAs, win records, and gray-area charges 26:22 — Criminal versus civil defense explained 29:56 — Gun-free zones and campus self-defense 44:48 — The veterans fiduciary-rule win 55:48 — Grassroots GOA versus the elite anti-gun lobby 1:13:14 — Training, the on ramp, and where to find Right to Bear About the guest Frank and Perry are the co-founders of Right to Bear, a self-defense legal protection program. Both are insurance agents by trade with 36 years in the business. Right to Bear grew out of their relationship with Palmetto State Armory, which they describe as their parent company and "Mothership." They launched the program first as an insurance product, then relaunched it in July 2022 as the Right to Bear association offering legal defense for self-defense incidents. The website is protectwithbear.com. [VERIFY last names and individual roles] Key quotes "And once they call that hotline, it goes directly to one of our attorneys. And that's one of the best things about our program is that it's an attorney answered hotline." — Perry "You have to be acting egregiously out of bounds to not get support from our association." — Perry "If there's a gray area, we're going to cover our people and that's the decision we've decided to make. We want to remain in control of how we protect our people." — Frank "We offer up to 40 counseling sessions after the incident had happened, if they need it." — Perry "The best thing that you can do as a gun owner is be active in the fight to ensure that your right to self defense is present and is not taken away by a government that doesn't want you to have it." — Kaylee "There's not a law on the books that you can change or add that will stop criminals from doing criminal things." — John "We are the grassroots gun lobby. Period. Full stop." — Kaylee