"In short, what happens is this: a wealthy New Yorker, with a need to carry a gun in NY (and other states, such as when he visits NJ or DC, two places where permits are impossible) finds a financially-strapped small-town police department in some other state, like Alaska for example. The wealthy New Yorker buys the town's PD a new Crown Vic, or makes a donation of some kind. The police chief then gives the wealthy New Yorker credentials as a "reserve" officer, which do not have any powers of arrest, or any duties, but do qualify as a "law enforcement officer" under HR218. (Remember, every state has various "reserve" officer statutes, and many states have no training requirements at all for those "reserve" officers.) At that point, the chief is happy to have a new Crown Vic, and the New Yorker is happy that he has a permit which lets him possess and carry in every state and exempts him from NY's asinine restrictions (magazine capacity and so on). And it's all "stealth": his reserve officer status is not a public record anywhere." - Steven Perez from Bookmarklet

"There are a few other neato aspects of these HR218 permits. Because these people are "officers" they can also get letters, on department letterhead, authorizing even cooler things. Want to carry a machine pistol (like a Glock 18 or mini-Uzi) in NYC? If you can get officer status, and the right letter of authorization, from a police chief in a small town in a rural state, you probably can do it legally. Want to carry your piece *on commercial flights*? Again, get an "armed 24x7" letter from a small-town police chief, and you can carry your pistol onto commercial flights. I have no idea how common these practices may or may not be, but the legal framework is in place and it's a win-win for both parties involved. " - Steven Perez