More Tennessee women carry guns - Tennessean.com, Christian Bottorff

For years, Nashville real estate agent Kim Hoard considered toting a gun for her safety at work and while traveling alone with her two children, ages 7 and 10.

She recently took action when she started getting harassing telephone calls from a man who saw her photo in an advertisement.

Hoard is now enrolled in a gun safety class that starts this month, and she is planning to obtain a permit so she can carry around a .38-caliber revolver that is now collecting dust at home.

"I have strangers in my car every day," Hoard said. "I meet strangers in empty houses all day long. For me, it seems like the logical step to protect myself."

Hoard is one of a growing number of women in Tennessee who have obtained handgun carry permits in Tennessee the past two years.

Last year, 9,921 women received permits to carry handguns in Tennessee — a record number. That was almost 500 more than in 2005, and about 80 percent more than in 2004, a year that ended a decline in such permits.

Permits are issued after completion of a handgun safety course, and after background checks and a fingerprint analysis by local, state and federal authorities.

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