In crime-pocked Memphis, the good guys -- and women -- get ready
The whole article is quite excellent. A snippet:

In 2000, 3,916 Shelby County residents had handgun carry permits. Five years later, in 2005, that number had more than doubled to 7,838. This year, permits are on pace to hit 8,000.

Statewide, the issuance of permits is also dramatically higher. In 2000, there were 24,627 permits approved. In 2005, the total had doubled and then some, to 55,364.

'I'm all for an armed populace,' says Sgt. Vince Higgins, spokesman for the Memphis Police Department. 'As long as it's a trained populace (in gun safety) and educated in liability.'

But the fact so many more people are applying for handgun carry permits speaks to something else. Citizens understand that much of police work is reactionary.

'What the authorities typically do is investigate crimes that already have happened,' says Tom Givens, owner of Range Master, which trained 274 people in August and September alone. 'That doesn't help the victim at all.

'Fifty years ago, there were good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods. Bad guys make house calls now.'