Renowned singer-songwriter Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday at 80, shared an experience involving a firearm for self-defense during a past interview that recently gained attention.
In a 2021 interview with Nashville Soundbite on YouTube, she was asked about a well-known moment in the film “9 to 5” where her character mentions using a gun to transform an inappropriate boss “from a rooster to a hen.” Parton, who held a concealed-carry permit for many years, recounted a real situation that might have inspired that memorable scene.
“There was this guy who was really aggressive towards me, and it was pretty frightening. He wouldn’t stop, so being a country girl, I had a gun, and I pulled it out. I said, ‘Look, if you touch me one more time, I’ll change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot,’” Parton explained during the interview. “That’s kind of where the whole idea came from because I’d told that story years ago.”
Parton was transparent about her firearm ownership and concealed carry permit, mentioning it in a 1978 Playboy magazine interview.
“I always carry a .38 pistol,” she revealed. “I have a permit for it in Nashville…. I carry it for protection. It makes me feel safer. I really dislike feeling helpless.”
The incident, which took place before 1981, occurred well before the Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which eliminated New York’s requirement for concealed carry applicants to demonstrate a “good cause” for carrying a firearm. This was also before many states established “shall issue” concealed carry laws, which mandated that authorities issue permits to qualified applicants.
Before 1994, Tennessee had stringent concealed-carry laws, and permits were not easy to obtain from the county sheriff, as noted by TennesseeFirearms.com. The state transitioned to a central issuing authority in 1996 and adopted constitutional carry laws in 2021.
