In 2004, Congress passed the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, declaring that police officers can carry concealed guns in any state with no need of a local license. Police and sheriff’s departments around the country have been rumored to hand out badges to buddies or in exchange for cash. The gun community calls them “badge factories.” It is a way to cut through all of that when you can find a police force in Arthur, NM that will grant them badge.
The law applies to officers who are off-duty and out of their jurisdiction—and includes volunteer reservists. Concealed-carry permits are granted only rarely. Applicants must prove they face “extraordinary personal danger”. Several reservists are among the most elite soldiers on Earth—former U.S. Navy SEALs. Many are high-dollar bodyguards or firearms instructors, and almost all of them are serious gun enthusiasts.
Boom! Anyone can get a badge to carry a concealed weapon cause there are no state or fed standards that determines what “qualified” means.
On-duty status determines LEOSA-eligibility. Thus, as long as the person meets the definition of “qualified law enforcement officer” in an on-duty capacity, whether an officer is a full-time, part-time, auxiliary, or reserve peace officer is not relevant in determining whether a person is a “qualified law enforcement officer” under LEOSA. LEOSA’s definition of “qualified law enforcement officer” does not include a requirement that a person have law enforcement authority off-duty.
From Wikipedia:
In 18 USC § 926B(c),[10] “qualified law enforcement officer” is defined as any individual employed by a governmental agency, state or local municipality, or private agency/firm who:
is authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and [sic?] has statutory powers of arrest, or apprehension under section 807(b) of title 10, United States Code (article 7(b) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice); This includes state and public college/university police officers.
is authorized by the agency to carry a firearm;
is not the subject of any disciplinary action by the agency which could result in suspension or loss of police powers;
meets standards, if any, established by the agency which require the employee to regularly qualify in the use of a firearm;
is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; and
is not prohibited by Federal law from receiving a firearm.
Additionally, 18 USC § 926B requires that the individual must carry photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the individual is employed that identifies the employee as a police officer or law enforcement officer of the agency.
Mercer owned Cambridge Analytics was able to reproduce the data mining that Facebook was already doing in a more effective way than the DNC.
Mercer’s hedge fund is Renaissance Technologies. Mercer owns Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica is at the center of a tech and political firestorm after revelations that it improperly harvested the personal data of 50 million Facebook users without their knowledge.
Lake Arthur is a badge factory to enjoy LEOSA privileges.
Robert Mercer is a volunteer for the Lake Arthur, NM police. Through a company he co-owns, Centre Firearms Co., he has a vast collection of machine guns and other weapons of war, as well as a factory in South Carolina that makes assault-style rifles. The stash includes an Mk 19 belt-fed grenade launcher, capable of hurling 60 explosives per minute.
Mercer’s links to the gun world flow through his son in law George Wells, who’s married to the youngest of Mercer’s three daughters, Heather Sue. Wells, had previously worked as a firearms trainer and a security contractor in Iraq
In 2012 several of Mercer’s associates had set up a Georgia named the Law Enforcement Education Organization. Among the founders were and Wells’s longtime friend Peter Pukish—both of whom were also Lake Arthur volunteers.
The purpose: to educate local authorities across the country about the rights of off-duty police officers to carry concealed weapons. They entered talks with Daniel Shea, a Nevada arms dealer who had a world-class collection of machine guns. Shea had brokered arms deals in Jordan and Serbia and trained U.S. commandos on obscure weapons they might face in the field.
Centre executives described their aim to become “the leading international supplier of arms and training.” In early 2014, Mercer and his partners acquired a warehouse in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens, N.Y., and moved much of Centre’s East Coast inventory there.
November 2013 business plan
https://web.archive.org/web/20180413130423/https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rYpkjG3z6_MU/v0
Koch Bodyguards Got Police Badges From Same Tiny Town as Mercer
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-11/koch-bodyguards-got-police-badges-from-same-tiny-town-as-mercer
Tiny Town Shuts Police Program That Gave Robert Mercer a Badge
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-10/tiny-town-shuts-police-program-that-gave-robert-mercer-a-badge
The volunteer program was the subject of a March 28
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-03-28/robert-mercer-s-secret-adventure-as-a-new-mexico-cop