Gun-friendly Texas is getting even friendlier in 2014 with new revisions to the state's concealed handgun application process — including a reduction of mandatory training hours and an elimination of social security number requirements.

While earning praise from the National Rifle Association during the 2013 legislative session, Texas lawmakers passed a record number of pro-gun bills aimed at everything from lowering license prices to prohibiting colleges and universities from restricting students wishing to carry firearms in their vehicles.

At the forefront of the Second Amendment push has been a loosening of mandates for 584,000 Texans who hold active concealed handgun licenses (CHLs) in addition to an ever-rising number of new applicants.

With the new year, applications will no longer ask for social security numbers and required training courses have been reduced from 10 to 15 hours down to four to six hours. Since September, annual CHL renewal courses have been eliminated and fees have been lowered for law enforcers and corrections officers as well as veterans and current members of the armed forces.

And for those caught with an unlicensed concealed handgun . . . Legislators recently amended the Texas Penal Code to soften the language from “fail to conceal” to “unintentional display.” Click here for the full list of legislative changes.