Mississippi Rematch One Second Amendment Supporters Should Watch

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Mississippi Rematch One Second Amendment Supporters Should Watch IMG iStock-884194552Mississippi – -(AmmoLand.com)- Mississippi is one state that doesn’t come up on the radar of Second Amendment supporters very often. However, that may be worth re-thinking this year. With the 2020 elections, though, taking a Senate seat for granted could result in a nasty surprise on election night. Mississippi is one of the states that has respected our Second Amendment rights over the years – as evidenced by how simple the summary of that state’s laws at the NRA-ILA’s web site is. The state routinely elects supporters of our right to keep and bear arms to statewide office. But sometimes, some races got close the last couple of years. In 2018, a special election for the Senate seat was decided by a little over seven points. The 2019 gubernatorial election was decided by a hair over five points. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who had the close race in 2018 (the aforementioned special election for the seat long held by Senator Thad Cochran), is now running for a full term in her own right. This is a rematch with Mike Espy, who was Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Agriculture. In 2018, Hyde-Smith got the NRA endorsement due to being a pro-Second Amendment incumbent. Hyde-Smith has co-sponsored pro-Second Amendment legislation during her relatively brief tenure in the Senate, particularly concealed carry reciprocity bills, the Hearing Protection Act, and the Protect Our Military Families' 2nd Amendment Rights Act. Granted, with Mississippi’s general respect for our Second Amendment rights, you’d like to see a Senator from that state be much more vocal, but that is a very minor disappointment in the scheme of things. The fact is, Cindy Hyde-Smith has been solid. Espy once was a strong supporter of our rights, but a statement in 2019 slamming Hyde-Smith for objecting to fast-tracking an anti-Second Amendment bill passed by the House does raise a red flag of sorts. This has all too often been the case with former friends who have now become Bloomberg stooges, see Kirsten Gillibrand, Bob Casey, and Steve Bullock. Warning signs aside, the big difference is on the ancillary issues. At best, Espy would be as problematic as Jon Tester, who votes right on gun bills, but who opposes judges who protect our rights, is also supportive of various campaign finance “reform” schemes, and whose first vote in a given Congress would be to empower Chuck Schumer, an avowed enemy of our Second Amendment rights. Second Amendment supporters can check out Senator Hyde-Smith’s campaign site here. They also should donate to the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates at all levels of government. About Harold Hutchison Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.