BATON ROUGE, La.  — Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster reminded women Thursday that they can pack a gun to protect themselves from a serial killer who has slain three women in the capital in the past 10 months.

"You have the right to get a gun permit," Foster said. "Learn to use it."

Foster said during his weekly radio show that he has asked state police to ensure they are helping with the investigation to find the man who slashed Pam Kinamore's throat, strangled Gina Green and stabbed Charlotte Pace.

Kinamore's mother, Lynne Marino, called the "Live Mike" radio show to ask the governor to intervene.

"I'm asking you to call in all the agencies throughout the state to assist us in this search for evidence and for the serial killer," she said. "Not many towns know how to deal with a serial killer."

The families of the victims have refused to rely solely on the police, sharing information among themselves to see if there's some small connection between the victims.

Foster touted self-protection until the killer was found.

"Most people don't ever want to use a gun to protect themselves -- that's the last thing they want to do -- but if you know how and you have a situation with some fruitcake running around, like they've got right now, it sure can save you a lot of grief," he said.

Pace, 22, lived three doors down from Green when the 41-year-old nurse was found strangled in her home on Sept. 24. Pace was stabbed to death on May 31, two days after she moved to a townhouse in another neighborhood. It doesn't appear that the two women knew each other.

Kinamore, 44, was abducted from her home on July 12. The killer slit her throat and dumped her body along a highway 30 miles outside Baton Rouge.