In Texas, one must acquire a Concealed Handgun License, or CHL, to carry around a handgun. Those who apply to receive the certification must meet requirements such as being 21 years of age or older (unless active military) and pass state regulated classes and screening which includes a background check along with a psychological analysis. However even if an individual passes the strict criteria, other limits are in place that affect their ability to carry and protect themselves and others from those with criminal intent. The gun control limit placed over institutions of higher learning should be removed for the safety of not just the students but also the faculty and staff of these institutions because removal would give citizens an opportunity…show more content… “In January, three people were shot when a 22-year-old man allegedly opened fire on a campus of the Lone Star community college system near Houston, Texas” (Jamieson). However, these shooting aren’t only occurring at the university level. “The December shooting rampage at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 children and six adults died” (Jamieson). Those people were shot by 20 year old Adam Lanza. “Earlier this year, the school principal, Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, ordered a new security system installed that required visitors to be visibly identified and buzzed in. As part of the security system, the school locked its doors each day at 9:30 a.m.”(CNN). However the new security system was not enough as “authorities now know the gunman used "an assault weapon" to "literally (shoot) an entrance into the building," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said (CNN). Tragedies like those school shootings call for some type of government action but efforts are divided. Some states such as New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and Colorado are trying to tighten up gun control laws while states more conservative states like Texas, Virginia, and Oklahoma are moving in the opposite direction…show more content… On the national level the forefront for republicans in the debate is National Rifle Association. The NRA is massive association which champions the protection of the Second Amendment and trying to expand control laws. The NRA is able to do this by donating lots of money to specific campaigns, just as any group does to get their voice heard in national government. But what makes the NRA really successful are its people. “I think our volunteers’ passion and intensity cannot be matched. You can’t pull a switch; your grassroots has to have sustainability and you have to train people. We might be happy with a recent legislative victory, but we examine why we won, we evaluate what we need to do better, and get our volunteers geared up for the next battle” (Showalter). The volunteers know the laws along with having a passion to change them. Showalter says “they (The NRA) take great care to train, equip, and motivate their volunteers. And their volunteers are willing to show up and do the work” (Showalter). The Texas Aggie Conservatives, a student conservative group at Texas A&M, work within their own college to get their college to allow carry on the grounds. “Currently, the law establishes provisions under which institutions of higher learning may have a process to allow individuals to carry concealed, pursuant to state law” (Texas Aggie Conservatives). But the issue is that
