To the editor:

I carry for self-defense. Every morning, I secure my weapon in a compartment of my bag, hoping I won’t have to use it. In six years of being a law-abiding carrier, I haven’t had to.

A few months ago, I was carrying at the University of Kansas, as always, but this time was different. This time, I accidentally discharged the weapon in the middle of Wescoe Hall. Luckily no one but myself got hurt. I got the chemicals all over my hand, in my mouth and in my eye. I suddenly regretted carrying the pepper spray that I had carried for so long, since it felt like it took forever to get the burning to stop. The only thing I could think about was how grateful I was that it wasn’t a gun.

Now, every time I pass the signs on the doors of each building on campus that say that guns are prohibited, I can’t help but think about July 1, 2017, when anyone, no permit or training required, will be allowed to carry a concealed weapon into the classroom buildings. A weapon that, unlike pepper spray, is designed to kill. I can only hope others are more responsible than me.