Cindy Hyde-Smith Wanted ‘Random Searches’ for Guns at State Fairgrounds

An appointed U.S. Senator from Mississippi who filled the seat of retired Sen. Thad Cochran and claims to be a Republican, once sought permission to randomly search fairgoers for guns during her tenure as State Commissioner of Agriculture.

“Your letter requests our office’s opinion on the following issues:” wrote the Mississippi Attorney General’s office in response to Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s request. “Can the MFC and the Department prohibit the carrying of weapons, concealed or not concealed, on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds Complex and at properties of the Department, including but not limited to the Mississippi Farmers’ Market and the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum, by posting signage prohibiting the carrying of a weapon?”

In case that request was denied, Hyde-Smith suggested random searches of patrons of the fairgrounds for weaponry. In the end, both requests were denied by the Attorney General.

“You also ask our opinion about other procedures that might be deemed to be random searches of individuals entering the gates at the State Fairgrounds Complex,” the letter says. The issue is only answerable by reference to federal law and cases construing the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

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The letter was first obtained by Mississippi Conservative Daily. 

The Fourth Amendment protects United States citizens against unlawful searches and seizures. In response to Hyde-Smith’s attempted gun grab, the State Attorney General’s office advised her that random searches and seizures were a matter of federal law too complex for them to assess.

Hyde-Smith is a former Democrat who once occupied a State Senate seat in Mississippi. She supported Hillary R. Clinton for president in 2008. During her tenure as a State Senator from 2010-2012, she switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, knowing that it would benefit her in seeking national office in a red state.

But she has held onto her Democrat roots.

Big League Politics reported:

“Sean Parker, billionaire founder of Napster, the online file sharing service, and early investor in Facebook, has donated $250,000 to the Victory Fund PAC, aimed at getting Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) elected, according to Pro Publica.

Parker was a large Hillary Clinton donor, too. According to the New York Times, he “gave nearly $300,000 to a joint fund-raising committee for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and dozens of state Democratic parties.””

BLP Passage Ends. 

Parker is known for his anti-Second Amendment stance, and for using his deep pockets to promote politicians who are weak on gun rights.

“He gave $250,000 to a gun control super political action committee led by former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., and more than that to help incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss. — a supporter of gun rights — fend off a Tea Party challenger,” according to San Francisco Gate.

Considering Hyde-Smith has a long history of fighting against gun rights,  it is fitting that Parker would support her.

Hyde-Smith faces State Senator Chris McDaniels (R-Ellisville), and two Democrats in a special non-partisan election on November 6.

“Senator Chris McDaniel has been a rock-solid supporter of the rights of gun owners, wrote Mississippi Conservative Daily. “Not only has he authored pro-gun legislation in the Mississippi Senate, he has never, not a single time, supported any law or regulation to curtail, in any way, the rights of Mississippians to keep and bear arms.”