Regulations to obtain 'Concealed Carry' permits usually require the applicant to take some sort of class or classes. Now, permit holders also have a number of groups to choose from that provide advice and support should the ever need to use their weapons.

It was one year ago—September 19, 2015—that Carlos Garcia was shot and killed by Nick Julian IV. Julian lived with his parents in Tampa, Florida, next door to Yaileen Ayala. Garcia and Ayala had divorced six months earlier and Garcia had shown up late on this night to get his two children for a weekend visitation. Garcia and Ayala were arguing while his car stereo played loudly, when Julian confronted Garcia about the music.

Julian became the focus of the argument. He had initially come out of his house—concerned that Garcia’s music would wake his girlfriend and her daughter—without his gun. According to Julian, he returned to the house but heard the music playing loudly again, so he went back outside. Julian went back into the house for a third time. That time, retrieved his .45 automatic weapon, and left again to confront Garcia. Julian’s father says he saw his son running back toward his porch with Garcia chasing him. That’s when he heard the shot. It was Julian who called 911 to report the shooting:

"Yes, ma'am. I just had a man attack me in my front yard," Nick Julian IV told a 911 operator on Sept. 19, 2015. "He attacked me and I had to use force," said Julian. "I was afraid for my life." "Well who used the gun?" the operator said. "I did," Julian said. In the background, Garcia's ex-wife screamed: "Why would you do this?" " 'Cause he charged me and I was in fear of my life," said Julian, then 26.

But Julian made another call that night—to the U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), one of several organizations in the U.S. which helps people strengthen their self-defense claims. The USCCA provides its members with “a 24-hour hotline, an attorney on retainer, bail money and a wallet-sized card instructing members on what to say after a shooting—starting at just $13 a month.”