USAA and 30.06

[A-R]

I've been w. them since 1986, and will be letting them know my opinion of their current policy as well.

Just submitted this:
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I've been a member of USAA since 1986, and have always spoken highly of the organization to everyone I know. I'm writing today because I just learned that USAA has posted their lobby with 30.06 signs prohibiting citizens from lawfully carrying their firearms into the building.

As you're no doubt already aware, CHL holders in Texas are among the most highly trained and scrutinized civilians in the country. Texas has some of the most stringent requirements for a CHL of any state. Even without that bar, for an organization which serves military families to prohibit the exercise of a fundamental right to self-defense is both surprising and disappointing.

Here in Houston, I routinely enter Chase Bank's branches to conduct transactions with them for my business. I carry a concealed firearm, as I do always & everywhere that carry is legally permissible. Chase has not posted 30.06 signs in their lobby, and I've never had a problem doing business with them. In fact, my firearm has yet to leap out of its holster & commit any crimes in the bank, or anywhere else for that matter. Perhaps I'm just one of the lucky ones. If you think that people with ill-intent would turn back when confronted with a 30.06 sign, you are terribly optimistic. I'm puzzled as to what benefits you expect from this signage & your policy. I *do* know that the 'good guys' are taking offense to your decision and questioning whether to continue their relationships with USAA.

I am chagrined to find myself doing business with an organization that does not respect the virtues of citizens lawfully taking back responsibility for their own defense. I strongly encourage you to reconsider your policy. I will check back in a few months to see if any headway has been made.

[aggie06]

Member since 2000. Email sent.

[Bennies]

Just sent my e mail:

Good Afternoon,

It has recently come to my attention that USAA has a corporate policy that prohibits a Concealed Handgun License holder from carrying into any USAA building or Banking location.

I find this to be a surprise that USAA would take such a unfriendly stance towards their customers right to self defense and protection. I have had a long standing belief that I am ultimately responsible for the safety and well being of myself and that of my family. In addition, I am not the only member of my family who is a USAA customer that is affected by this policy.
The signs that are posted at your Texas banking locations are legal and DO prohibit me from entering the premise of your banking establishments. I am a law abiding citizen. I have a clean criminal record, and with research you will find that the majority of the Texas Concealed Handgun License community are among the most outstanding individuals in society. We have jumped through legal hoops, received fire arms training, and passed our state implemented test to legally carry our Handguns day to day in our community. Your policy against legal Licensed holders from carrying on your Property does not make your establishment safer environment. I can guarantee that it is the criminals that will dismiss the signs and continue past them, not the law abiding citizens which pose NO threat.

I have never had a bad thing to say about USAA. In fact, I am more than pleased with the services provided. I have had car loans, property and auto insurance, and banking through USAA. I DO NOT WISH TO TERMINATE MY MEMBERSHIP. USAA is far beyond any competitor and second to none. However, I WILL CHOOSE BETWEEN MY PRINCIPLE AND BELIEF IN PERSONAL SELF DEFENSE IF THIS POLICY STANDS. Please do not make me choose between the best customer service I have received and my right to defend myself. There are other banks which are sub par but do allow me the freedom to protect myself and my family.
Respectfully,

[Bennies]

USAA responded back quickly as usual.There customer service is truly great. I hope i will not be forced to drop their service:

We appreciate the feedback you sent regarding our new handgun policy. It is our goal to provide quality products and superior service to all our members. We apologize for not meeting your needs this time and hope that you will continue to do business with us.



We continually look for ways to improve our products and services for our members, and your comments will help us do so.........

[pbwalker]

USAA responded back quickly as usual.There customer service is truly great. I hope i will not be forced to drop their service:

We appreciate the feedback you sent regarding our new handgun policy. It is our goal to provide quality products and superior service to all our members. We apologize for not meeting your needs this time and hope that you will continue to do business with us.



We continually look for ways to improve our products and services for our members, and your comments will help us do so.........

That was the generic response I got the first go-round. I replied back saying that I wanted this to be escalated to management and that's how it got things moving.

It's almost like they didn't read the original letter...

[utme]

I've been a member at USAA for nearly 20 years. The service is good. The 30.06 signage was only recently posted at the lobby in San Antonio. It replaced the fake gun sign with circle and slash through it, which could be ignored by CHL holders. When I asked the security guards, they replied it was standard at all banks to not allow concealed carry in the lobby. I pointed out that was not true and gave them Frost Bank as an example.

Very disappointed by the new policy, I wrote a respectful letter to the president of USAA, David Bohne. His assistant called my house and left a message on my answering machine, even though I did not include my phone number in the letter. USAA obviously looked up my account, etc. This is the written response that I received a few days later on official USAA letterhead:

Thank you for your letter concerning signage displayed at the USAA Federal Savings Bank lobby. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.

While we recognize the civil statutes granted under the law, we have adopted the policy of prohibiting a person carrying a firearm, licensed or unlicensed, from entering our financial establishments. I regret the misinformation you received when you inquired about this matter. Our policy was put in place as a matter of consistency with the policy of all our campuses and financial services centers. We take our responsibility to all who enter our establishments seriously and want to minimize the risks associated with the presence of weapons in our business environment.

We value your membership with USAA, and your feedback is well taken. Thank you for allowing us to serve your financial needs.

Sincerely,

David Bohne
President

[Shoot_First]

Mailed a letter with this text today:

Josue Robles, Jr., CEO
USAA
9800 Fredericksburg Road
San Antonio, Texas 78288

Dear General Robles:

Today I read a post on the Texas CHL Forum titled “USAA and 30.06” which contained the following quote from USAA’s response to a CHL forum member:

“You previously contacted us regarding our policy on concealed weapons. We regret that it's taken so long for a response, but our management team has provided the following:
The current Financial Center policy is an extension of USAA’s San Antonio campus policy which does not allow concealed handguns in our Federal Savings Bank Lobby.
Based on member feedback, our Physical Security Department is now re-examining the policy.
It is our goal to provide quality products and superior service to all our members. We continually look for ways to improve our products and services for our members, and your comments will help us do so.
Brad Wells
AVP Member Experience
We value your business and the opportunity to serve all your financial needs.
Thank you,
Frank Montalvo
USAA “

The complete post is at: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=35988" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Additional online search found several articles stating that USAA is considered to be an anti-gun business.

As a USAA member for over 35 years, I am dismayed to learn that USAA prohibits Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders’ access to your San Antonio Campus and in the lobby of USAA FSB banks.

You and your fellow USAA members while serving on active military duty swore to defend the United States Constitution. I would expect USAA to reflect such in its policy, especially in regard to the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution and CHL holders since they are in Texas licensed by the state after being found to be law-abiding citizens and fully qualified to carry a concealed handgun.

I would greatly appreciate your response to my six questions as follows:
1. Why does USAA not support the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution?
2. Are there other parts of the United States Constitution that USAA does not support by policy and if yes, what are those aspects?
3. Why does USAA deny CHL holders access to USAA’s San Antonio Campus and the lobby of USAA’s FSB banks while they carrying a concealed handgun?
4. Do you think the criminal elements of our society bent on violence and law-breaking within USAA facilities will be deterred from such by a 30.06 sign?
5. Why is USAA considered to be anti-gun?
6. What was USAA’s rationale for its CHL policy?

I urge you to immediately change USAA policy pertaining to CHL holders carrying a concealed handgun in USAA facilities before you lose some law-abiding members.

Warm regards,

[pbwalker]

This is what I got from USAA. Their response was in multiple kinds of fonts, so it is evident that they just "copied and pasted" from something else. Glad to know that I am valued enough as a member to not warrant an actual response.

Dear pbwalker:

Thank you for your e-mail inquiry in which you asked for an explanation as to why on our San Antonio location notifies individuals that carrying a concealed handgun is forbidden.

USAA believes we can promote a safer workplace if weapons are not stored on USAA property. Moreover, USAA believes that our current policy provides a safe, secure, and professional work environment for employees, visitors, vendors, and non-USAA workers. We have examined this policy thoroughly, and we consider it to be appropriate.

Thank you again for your inquiry, and thank you for your USAA membership.

Bo Gilbert
Assistant Vice President Midwest Region Government Relations
Government & Industry Relations

I replied back with a not-so-nice response.

Bo,

Thank you for your reply. I am a bit disappointed in USAA's response. You may believe that you are providing a "safer" environment, and I am sure the staff of Virginia Tech thought the same exact thing, but that is really a false sense of security. Do you honestly think criminals or those who wish to do harm follow those signs? I'm sure you don't. So all you are doing is preventing law abiding citizens from exercising their rights and their ability to defend themselves. Remember, guns do not just go off or jump out of a holster and start shooting. It is the person who commits the crime, and they are not going to be detered by a metal sign.

And for a business to only agree with specific / certain inalienable rights, well...as someone who has served for ALL of those rights, I am offended.

I am not expecting USAA to change its policy, so all I can do is move my banking and insurance to another provider that respects my rights. The rights I served to protect. After being with USAA for 10 years, I am really disappointed. I will also be sure to let your position be known to as wide an audience as I can. Military web forums, Texas CHL forums, and fellow supporters of the second ammendment.

pbwalker

[RPB]

I switched to Texas Farm Bureau, got more, cheaper.
Pretty conservative group, being rural folks and all.
And, they give a free steak dinner party at Christmas.

[williamkevin]

I am also a USAA member; checking, savings and auto loan. I was considering giving them my mortgage business and any other car loans----not so much any more. I never frequent the campus or main branch lobby (I'm in Houston), but this ticks me off enough that I am going to start looking for another bank of credit union.

[Katygunnut]

I've been with Wells Fargo for years, and I also have some investments at Fidelity. I can highly recommend both companies as good alternatives.

I have resolved that I will not support any business that has a business objective of infringing on the Constitution or on the rights of people. USAA fits in both categories.

To be fair, I think I will write them a letter expressing my displeasure that they do not want my business as a potential customer.

[rinnels69]

I've been w. them since 1986, and will be letting them know my opinion of their current policy as well.

Just submitted this:
----------------------------
I've been a member of USAA since 1986, and have always spoken highly of the organization to everyone I know. I'm writing today because I just learned that USAA has posted their lobby with 30.06 signs prohibiting citizens from lawfully carrying their firearms into the building.

As you're no doubt already aware, CHL holders in Texas are among the most highly trained and scrutinized civilians in the country. Texas has some of the most stringent requirements for a CHL of any state. Even without that bar, for an organization which serves military families to prohibit the exercise of a fundamental right to self-defense is both surprising and disappointing.

Here in Houston, I routinely enter Chase Bank's branches to conduct transactions with them for my business. I carry a concealed firearm, as I do always & everywhere that carry is legally permissible. Chase has not posted 30.06 signs in their lobby, and I've never had a problem doing business with them. In fact, my firearm has yet to leap out of its holster & commit any crimes in the bank, or anywhere else for that matter. Perhaps I'm just one of the lucky ones. If you think that people with ill-intent would turn back when confronted with a 30.06 sign, you are terribly optimistic. I'm puzzled as to what benefits you expect from this signage & your policy. I *do* know that the 'good guys' are taking offense to your decision and questioning whether to continue their relationships with USAA.

I am chagrined to find myself doing business with an organization that does not respect the virtues of citizens lawfully taking back responsibility for their own defense. I strongly encourage you to reconsider your policy. I will check back in a few months to see if any headway has been made.

Just copy, pasted, and revised it with my info. Sent.

[stash]

All I have with them is my home owners ins. Looks like when it expires I will be looking for another company. Maybe I will check out Texas Farm Bureau. And I had to wait so long to meet the requirements to become a member.

[Capt Jeff]

Been an enthusiastic member since 1989. This all very disappointing. I too sent an e-mail moments ago. Don't know how much good it will do based on responses from management (above)..... Where I live it is very difficult (if not impossible) to get a homeowner's policy due to hurricane risk, so it would be very difficult to replace some of the products USAA is now supplying.

[VMI77]

While we recognize the civil statutes granted under the law, we have adopted the policy of prohibiting a person carrying a firearm, licensed or unlicensed, from entering our financial establishments.

I hate liars. They may have prohibited people with CHL's from carrying a weapon into their establishment, since most people who have a CHL obey the law, but they are most certainly not prohibiting anyone who isn't inclined to obey the law. Since I doubt this executive is stupid, he knows that the sign is only stopping licensed firearm possession in his "establishment," and that has to be the sole intent of the policy, and therefore the statement is a baldfaced lie.