Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of December 3, 2013. Give me your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am. Remember, you can listen online at KFYO.com or on your iPhone/Android with the radioPup App.

Alex Wong, Getty Images
Alex Wong, Getty Images
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Newtown Anniversary Events

Some people have no shame. Obama's fundraising and community organizing arm, Organizing for Action, is encouraging people to hold anniversary events for Newtown. According to The Hill, it's all about gun control.

The political advocacy group born from President Obama's reelection campaign is encouraging supporters to host "anniversary events" marking one year since the Newtown Elementary School shooting.

Organizing for America (OFA) says it intends the events to be a "powerful reminder of what we lost a year ago, and a reminder that we as a nation need to do more to prevent gun violence and keep our communities safe."

OFA says that the events will be held in towns and cities across the country and will be used to "call on Congress to finally take action to make our communities safer."

 

Following the mass shooting that left 26 schoolchildren and school employees dead, Obama called for legislation that would expand background checks on firearm purchases, create new penalties on straw purchases and include new funding for school security.

Obama repeatedly invoked the victims in his call for the reforms, telling lawmakers "shame on us" if they had forgotten the children who perished.

“Tears aren't enough. Expressions of sympathy aren't enough. Speeches aren't enough,” Obama said. “We've cried enough. We've known enough heartbreak. What we're proposing isn't radical. It isn't taking anybody's gun rights. It's something that, if we are serious, we will do.”

The Senate ultimately voted down a bipartisan amendment with the background check expansion 54-46.

Some Republicans accused the president and his allies of exploiting the victims of the tragedy to build support for the bill.

"What I don't think is constructive is what the president is doing right now, which is within minutes of that horrible tragedy in Newtown the president began trying to exploit that tragedy to push a gun control agenda that is designed to appeal to partisans," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told NBC News.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said it was "deeply unfortunate" Obama "continues to use the tragedy at Newtown as a backdrop for pushing legislation that would have done nothing to prevent that horrible crime.”

OFA held a similar round of events at the six month anniversary of the shooting. According to the group, more than 1,000 people attended nearly 80 vigils and remembrance events across the country.

Massengale to Challenge Perry

Today at 10am Steve Massengale, the current Lubbock ISD Board of Trustees President, will officially kickoff his campaign for District 83 State Representative according to KFYO News.

Steve Massengale will officially announce his run for the District 83 Texas House of Representatives seat.

All are invited to the event, which will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, December 3rd, in the Waters Elementary School Library. Waters Elementary is located at 3006 76th Street.

Massengale is challenging incumbent District 83 State Representative Charles Perry in the March 4th, 2014 Republican Primary.

Perry has held the seat since 2011. Massengale owns a promotional products company in Lubbock, and Perry is a Certified Public Accountant.

More on this story is available here.

I am interested in seeing how exactly Massengale plans on challenging Charles Perry. It's pretty difficult to run to Perry's right. In fact the only big disagreements Republicans have had with Perry has been his stance on school vouchers and Open Carry. Does Massengale have a shot of winning? With the money and connections he has, sure. But in a race where the most conservative will probably win, it will be hard for Massengale to convince the voters to make a switch.

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These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.

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