Donald Trump's selection for the new interim U.S. Attorney for the state of Rhode Island should cheer gun owners, but two of the state's most anti-2A politicians are already vowing to block any attempt to keep him on the job on a longer basis.
Charles Calenda, a former prosecutor in the Rhode Island Attorney General's office who ran as a Republican to unseat AG Peter Neronha in 2022, will be sworn in as the interim U.S. attorney tomorrow; a position that he's expected to hold for the next 120 days.
During his 2022 campaign, Calenda took issue with Neronha's response to the Supreme Court's decision in Bruen when the Democrat claimed that the permits issued by his office were constitutionally compliant even though applicants were required to have a "proper showing of need." Permits issued by local police chiefs in the state are approved without having to explain a "need", and Calenda argued that the AG's process needs to be "shall issue" as well.
Though Calenda was unsuccessful at unseating Neronha, he's now in a position where he could take his complaint to the DOJ's Second Amendment Section, or potentially even bring a civil lawsuit against the Rhode Island AG's "may issue" scheme on his own.
It would probably be best, though, to pass any potential case on to the DOJ's Civil Rights Division and the Second Amendment Section, because Calenda's already has enemies in the U.S. Senate who've committed to ousting him as soon as possible.
On Sunday Dec. 28, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Democrat, issued this statement on Calenda's appointment:
“Despite good-faith efforts at a bipartisan nomination process with the Trump White House, the MAGA Department of Justice insisted on a MAGA stooge with neither the qualifications nor temperament for this position. There will be no blue slip and we will be rid of him soon enough.”
Added U.S. Sen. Jack Reed: "Despite our good faith conversations with the Administration, they chose a partisan interim appointment. Rhode Islanders deserve a capable U.S. Attorney who can serve them long-term."
Whitehouse, you might remember, was one of several Senate Democrats who threatened to pack the Supreme Court with anti-gun justices if the Supreme Court took up the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York (which was ultimately mooted when the city and state changed the challenged law). In a bizarre amicus brief, Whitehouse and three other Senate Democrats declared that any effort by the Court to "expand the Second Amendment and thwart gun-safety regulations" should come to a screeching halt. If not, hey suggested SCOTUS would need to be “restructured in order to reduce the influence of politics.”
Given Calenda's support for the Second Amendment, it's no wonder that Whitehouse is frothing at the mouth over his appointment as interim U.S. Attorney. While he's serving in that position Calenda is likely to take a keen interest in the state's restrictive gun control laws. Earlier this year Calenda wrote on Facebook"
"I don’t care about whether Epstein killed himself; nor who was on his island, nor the Diddy trial. I care about the federal government protecting our 2A rights and going after the states, like Rhode Island, that continue to deny us our civil rights.
"Donald J. Trump I respectfully ask you to direct your department of justice to use all available legal tools to protect the 2A and the people’s right to keep and bear arms. I’d be happy to do it for you if given the opportunity ... We need firm, swift action to counter the coordinated attack on our civil rights by these blue state zealots."
If Calenda is unable to serve as U.S. Attorney after his interim period is up, I hope he'll consider moving over to the DOJ's Second Amendment Section. It sounds like he could do some good work there, though as of last month he was also reportedly still considering another run for Rhode Island Attorney General. It's going to be tough for any Republican to win statewide office in Rhode Island, though, and I'd argue that he'd be in a far better position to undo the infringements in place from a perch within the DOJ than as a candidate for attorney general.
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