celebratory gunfire – Missouri House of Representatives Newsroom

‘Law’ at last: After 13 years, Blair’s Law, criminalizing ‘celebratory’ gunfire, is signed

July 4 was the 13 year anniversary of the death of 11 year-old Blair Shanahan Lane. Five days later legislation criminalizing “celebratory gunfire,” such as what ended her life, was signed into law.

That signing was the culmination of 13 years of work by a determined mother who responded to the senseless death of a daughter by refusing to give up.

“It’s just what got me out of bed … knowing I could make something happen,” Michele Shanahan DeMoss said after the law bearing her daughter’s name was at long last signed into effect.

*Michele Shanahan DeMoss and Representative Mark Sharp (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Up to one moment on Independence Day, 2011, Blair, Michele, and the rest of the family were celebrating the holiday and all was normal. The next moment, Blair was suddenly laying on the ground, and what Michele had known as “normal” was ended.

Blair had been struck by one of many bullets fired carelessly into the air by a person at a party more than half a mile away. She died the next day.

The man who fired that gun served 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter. There was no state law that addresses what is often called “celebratory gunfire,” until Tuesday when Governor Mike Parson (R) signed Senate Bill 754, which includes “Blair’s Law.”

Blair’s Law makes the unlawful discharge of a firearm within or into the city limits of a community a class A misdemeanor for a first offense, a class E felony for a second offense, and a class D felony for subsequent instances.

It is a change that has received broad, growing, and consistently bipartisan support every year it was proposed. Representative Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) joined five years ago the list of lawmakers to sponsor it in the House. He said to see it finally signed is a huge relief.

“I had a good chance to see other folks lead the way and lead the charge on Blair’s Law and I picked up where they left off,” Sharp said Tuesday.

Also sponsoring Blair’s Law this year is Representative Sherri Gallick (R-Belton), who was inspired by Michele after meeting her while knocking doors during Gallick’s run for office.

“I am extremely happy for Michele. She did this for Blair to save lives and bring more awareness,” Gallick said.

This year’s version of Blair’s Law was the second to reach the desk of Governor Parson. He vetoed last year’s version, siting objections not with it, but with other provisions within the same bill. Before signing SB 745 yesterday he addressed that action.

Governor Mike Parson (center), joined by Representative Mark Sharp (left) and Senator Tony Luetkemeyer (right), addresses Blair Shanahan Lane’s family before signing Blair’s Law into law. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

“I’m sure they were disappointed,” Parson said regarding last year’s veto. “I thank you for staying the course to do what is right because you’re going to help somebody else out, and at the end of the day and that’s what we’re all supposed to be doing … and I can tell you I will be very proud to sign this on your behalf today.”

When it was vetoed last year, Sharp and other legislators who had worked on it immediately assured DeMoss that it would be a priority in this year’s session. DeMoss never lost hope and never criticized those involved in the process.

“I also believe there were many reasons why we didn’t get here and I’m not mad at them. It took some time, but there’s a saying about the tortoise and the hair and I clearly am the tortoise, but we’re here,” said DeMoss.

As she, Sharp, and others have observed often, each year that the bill didn’t pass was another year that it was refiled, and each time the attention it received grew. Supporters hope that growing publicity discouraged at least some incidents of celebratory gunfire.

Sharp said in his district and others in the state, however, incidents are still occurring.

“Every year, Fourth of July, New Year’s Eve, Shot Spotter systems are picking up gunshots of people illegally, recklessly discharging their firearms in the city limits. Fireworks are one thing but shooting your gun off with reckless abandon is completely uncalled for. People are being wounded, people are being killed, countless property damage to our homes and to our cars, communities are unsafe, it’s just time that we change the culture in Kansas City and get rid of this bad habit,” Sharp said.

Gallick agreed, “Gun ownership is a responsibility. Guns are not toys and they should not be used recklessly to celebrate. We now have stricter penalties.”

The Kansas City Police Department said that during last week’s Independence Day holiday period of 6 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. the next morning, there occurred one casualty incident, four aggravated assaults, and three incidents of property damage, all of which were believed to be related to celebratory gunfire or possibly fireworks. The Department’s Shot Spotter technology, during that period, detected 280 rounds of gunfire within the Kansas City limits. Another 110 reports of shots fired were called in to the Department and 911 dispatchers.

*Blair’s family speaks with Governor Mike Parson ahead of the signing into law of Blair’s Law. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

DeMoss said Tuesday that she is not done. She has always felt called to her advocacy, and she does not know where that will lead her next, but she feels sure something is coming.

“I need to get through today and the rest of this week, and maybe the rest of this month,” DeMoss said. “I know that [what’s next] will reveal itself to me. For 13 years it’s got me out of bed so there is something that’s next and I am confident in that.”

During the past thirteen years DeMoss has often said that she talks to Blair, and feels Blair with her, especially as she lobbied for this law. She felt her again on the day of the signing. She noticed something that frequent Capitol goers will recognize: décor in the stairwells with an “M” for Missouri alternating with a Hawthorn blossom, the result of which looks very much like the word “Mom.”

“I come around the corner and at the middle of the staircase I see ‘Mom.’ The first time I walked through the doors I heard that, and today I heard that. Quietly, inside of me, she still pushes me. Pushes me to get out of bed, and pushes me to persevere, and I know I’ll see her again.”

Countless visitors to the Missouri Capitol have found meaning in the stairwells’ “M” for Missouri interspersed with the state symbol hawthorn flower. To Michele Shanahan DeMoss, it was Blair’s message encouraging her to push forward.

“It’s rough and I don’t want any other mom or family, husband, brother, sister, or coworker to sit in my seat, so I would do it again. I would not do Blair’s death again but I would persevere in the situation of coming to Jefferson City, advocating and educating for something that makes a difference. Hands down.”

‘Blair’s Law’ Passed Again, Sponsors Confident it will Become Law

A mother’s nearly 13 year quest for justice for her daughter might have finally reached its end, with one of the bills passed at the end of this year’s regular legislative session.

Michele Shanahan DeMoss has visited the Missouri State Capitol regularly for the 12 years since her daughter Blair’s tragic death, advocating for passage of a law honoring Blair’s life and aimed at saving others. On the final day of the session she saw it finally passed to the governor. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

On July 4, 2011, 11 year-old Blair Shanahan Lane was struck by a bullet fired carelessly into the air by a person more than half a mile away. Blair died the next day. The man who fired that gun served 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter. There is no state law that addresses what is often called “celebratory gunfire.” Every legislative session since her daughter’s death, Michele Shanahan DeMoss has come to Jefferson City in an effort to change that.

On the final day of the 2024 session the legislature gave final passage to a bill that included Blair’s Law, to criminalize the careless discharge of a firearm in or into the limits of a municipality.

“I woke up this morning and I said, ‘This is the day. Let’s do it,’ and I just felt, without any hesitation, that it would happen,” Shanahan DeMoss said of that morning, and how she felt before heading to the Capitol. She was in the House when the final vote was taken.

Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) was one of the sponsors of Blair’s Law, as he has been for the past five years. He has long seen the passion and emotion Shanahan DeMoss pours into the effort, and it became personal for him as well.

“It’s been so important to my community,” Sharp said. “Just in my own neighborhood, alone, on days like Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve and we have an almost three year-old daughter, and sometimes we don’t even feel comfortable sitting in our living room on the Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve because of the amount of gunfire that we can so easily hear. It sounds like it’s on your own street, it’s so close it comes to feel like it’s in your backyard. It’s very scary. People have been hurt and killed, officers have been hit by bullets that come down, it’s just incredibly scary. We hope that our prosecutor and our chief of police will work together to make some arrests.”

Representative Sherri Gallick (R-Belton) also sponsored Blair’s Law this year. She first heard about it directly from Shanahan DeMoss after knocking on her door while campaigning. She decided, then, that she would also push for the legislation.

“I believe in Second Amendment rights and with that, I believe, comes responsibility. If you’re shooting a gun randomly it’s going to go somewhere. Whether it goes in the air and comes down and hits a house, or hits a human, or hits an animal, there are consequences,” Gallick said.

Blair’s Law would specify that a person is guilty of unlawful discharge of a firearm if they, with criminal negligence, discharge a firearm in or into the limits of a municipality. A first offense would be a class “A” misdemeanor which carries up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000; a second time would be a class “E” felony carrying up to four years in prison; and third and any subsequent offense would be a class “D” felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

The first time Blair’s Law was truly agreed to by the House and Senate was in 2023, but it was part of a bill that included other provisions to which Governor Mike Parson (R) had objections, and because of those he vetoed it.

Sharp and Gallick anticipate it will be signed this year.

“Last year was a little different because it was the first time passing Blair’s Law, and it was a little surreal, so when he vetoed it I wasn’t completely surprised,” Sharp said. “This year I have every reason to think the governor’s going to sign it. It’s been a very emotional day for me personally.”

Even after going through the emotional high to low of the first ever passage of Blair’s Law last year followed by the disappointment of its veto, Shanahan DeMoss did not hesitate to come to the Capitol multiple times this year to push for it again.

“She was my only child, my entire world, and she is still my child and I am still her example, so to persevere for something that I know will make a difference is, without any hesitation, been is something that I have stood by and will continue standing by it.”

Supporters note that one of the positives of the proposal not having passed for so many years is that it continued to garner attention throughout that time. That publicity likely prevented at least some incidents of people firing a gun into the air.

Even if the governor signs Blair’s Law this year, Shanahan DeMoss, Gallick, and Sharp say they want to keep that attention up. That is especially true as the Independence Day holiday approaches, as it is both the anniversary of Blair’s death, and it remains a time when incidents of “celebratory gunfire” spike.

Last year the Kansas City Police Department’s SoundSpotter system – sound capturing technology that the Kansas City Police Department uses to identify potential gunshots – detected 193 rounds fired between 6 p.m. on July 4 and 6 a.m. on July 5.

“The crime that took my daughter’s life, the crime and the irresponsibility that surrounds that crime continues to happen, and so the conversation is there, and I will always show up to support the education and whatever I can do to get people to understand. Regardless of if there’s a law or not, people will still break the law, so I will still help to continue to educate people,” DeMoss said.

“I don’t think that [Shanahan DeMoss is] just going to say, ‘Okay, this is done,’ because that’s not who she is,” Gallick said. “She will continue to bring awareness to it. I think it’s up to us, and the media, to be honest with you. Especially around the Fourth of July, but even with celebrations with the Chiefs and New Year’s and other things that go on, people should not be firing guns recklessly.

“She is inspiring. She had a tragedy and she is trying to find hope and to help other people by bringing awareness to random gun shooting, and it is a problem in Missouri. Missouri has a huge problem with it.”

Sharp adds, “We have to keep our foot on the gas. If that means doing interviews from here across the state to St. Louis, we have to make sure that our law enforcement is aware and our prosecutors are aware that this passed. This is not just an issue that’s solely in Kansas City, it is an issue that’s across the state, especially the St. Louis and Columbia areas.”

Gallick and Sharp are the latest in a long line of former House members who have sponsored Blair’s Law since 2011.

Michele Shanahan DeMoss speaks with Representatives Mark Sharp (left) and Lane Roberts (right), after the final passage of Senate Bill 754, which contains ‘Blair’s Law.’ Roberts carried that bill in the House. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

“I want them to know that I celebrate them,” DeMoss said of them, and of all the legislators who have carried the measure. “I celebrate that they put in the effort, that they listened to me, which I know at times is probably hard because I have a tendency to go on and on until I know I’ve driven my point home.”

Blair’s legacy continues in other ways, as well. Six of her organs went to five people, and her mother runs a charity in her name. Blair’s Foster Socks gives socks and other items to children in need.

Blair’s Law was sent to Governor Parson as part of Senate Bill 754. He can sign it into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without his action.

Shanahan DeMoss, like Sharp and Gallick, believes he will sign it, and said if a signing ceremony is held, “I will be there.”

Blair’s Law against ‘celebratory gunfire’ back for 2024 session

For the twelfth time, Missouri legislators will be asked by the mother of a little girl killed by a stray bullet to increase penalties for the careless firing of guns.

The legislature this past session sent “Blair’s Law” to the desk of Governor Mike Parson (R). It was the first time that proposal reached the desk of a governor. Parson expressed support for it calling it something he’d “like to sign into law,” but it was only one measure among several that were combined into one bill, Senate Bill 189. He had issues with some of the other measures, and so it was vetoed.

Blair’s Law is named for Blair Shanahan Lane, who was 11 when she was hit by a stray bullet while celebrating Independence Day, 2011, with her family. Someone more than half a mile away carelessly fired their gun into the air and one of those bullets struck Blair in the neck. She died the next day.

The man who fired that gun served 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter. No state law directly addresses what is often called, “celebratory gunfire.” Every legislative session Blair’s death, her mother has come to Jefferson City to change that.

Michele Shanahan DeMoss said since Blair’s Law was vetoed, after being passed for the first time after more than a decade of work, she has been, “thoughtful.

“Thoughtful that I know the processes. I knew that in July [when the governor vetoed that bill] the process had already started again. The conversations were happening. Just thoughtful that the wheels are turning and we’re headed in the right direction.”

The “processes” to which she refers are the renewed efforts to see Blair’s Law become part of Missouri law. That is a top priority for two state lawmakers, and that is why the proposal was again among those prefiled on December 1; the first day that bills could be filed for the 2024 session.

One of those legislators is Representative Mark Sharp (D), who will be carrying that proposal for the fifth straight year. He said even though it was vetoed, he and other supporters see its passage last year as a win.

“The House has vetted it as much as it can … I believe this is the second session in a row where the Senate has had debate on Blair’s Law on the Senate floor. That’s a long way away from where we were four or five years ago with Blair’s Law, so I do think that all indicators are pointing the right direction.”

*Representative Mark Sharp (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Joining the list of legislators who over the years have sponsored Blair’s Law is Belton Republican Sherri Gallick, who is in her second year in the Missouri House. Gallick met DeMoss while campaigning in 2022 and that’s when she first heard Blair’s story.

“I was knocking on doors for campaigns … and happened to knock on Blair’s mother’s door and she told me all about it, and by the time we were leaving we were all in tears, so when Mark (Sharp) filed it last year I had told him … ‘I will do whatever I can to help you.’”

Gallick said of DeMoss, “She has been steadfast … there’s been other legislators throughout the years that have tried to help and she’s still very adamant. She wants to do this. She wants to get it across the finish line for her daughter.”

House Bills 1437 (Gallick) and 1477 (Sharp) would specify that a person is guilty of unlawful discharge of a firearm if they, with criminal negligence, discharge a firearm in or into the limits of a municipality. A first offense would be a class “A” misdemeanor which carries up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000; a second time would be a class “E” felony carrying up to four years in prison; and third and any subsequent offense would be a class “D” felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Even as efforts to pass Blair’s Law continue, incidents involving stray gunfire keep happening. Last month, while in her own bedroom in her south Kansas City home, 11 year-old Lauren Reddick was hit by two bullets. One of those left her paralyzed.

On New Year’s Eve, the Department’s SoundSpotter system identified more than 2,300 rounds fired between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. on January 1. That was more than double the total detected by that sound capturing technology one year prior.

“We’re all gearing up for New Year’s and Christmas and the holidays and … I just hope to God that we don’t have any more incidents of somebody being hit or injured or killed by celebratory gunfire,” Sharp said.

Over the years that Blair’s Law has been proposed, the attention it has gotten has created awareness of the dangers presented by careless gunfire, and its supporters hope that will continue to be a residual benefit of their efforts.

“It is absolutely unbelievable, the places I go, not even in Missouri, that either somebody will learn the story, recognize me, somebody else will tell them, and a conversation [will begin] with regards to celebratory gunfire, firing a gun recklessly, and unfortunately even other tragic situations, because of the conversation continuing and that really is the biggest thing that I share,” DeMoss said. “Year after year it would be nice to cross the finish line, have it signed into law and see the goodness that really transpires from it. Raising the awareness is one thing but being able to actually prosecute the crime would, I think, be the game changer.”

*Representative Sherri Gallick (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Gallick, like other Republicans who have carried or spoken in support of the legislation through the years, says among other things it is an issue of responsible gun ownership.

“When you shoot a gun the bullet goes somewhere … you should be intentional. When you’re shooting a gun you should have some purpose, not just to shoot it in the air,” Gallick said.

Both representatives say they are optimistic about the legislation’s chances of passage in 2024, given its overwhelming bipartisan support and the Governor’s message. They also commend DeMoss, who they say is “inspiring” as she has remained consistent and undaunted.

“There are so many people that think I should be devastated that it didn’t pass and I’m not devastated,” said DeMoss. “There are so many disappointments that I could list but … the worst things that could happen to a human being happened to Blair and changed my life forever, and I will continue lobbying. I will continue educating, carrying on the conversation that celebratory gunfire, firing a gun recklessly is stupidity. To continue to persevere to change the law, to make the law what we’ve been working on absolutely needs to be done.”

The new session of the Missouri General Assembly begins January 3.

Twelve year push gets increased penalties for ‘celebratory gunfire’ to governor’s desk for first time

Nearly 12 years after the tragic death of an 11 year-old Independence girl, the Missouri legislature has voted for a bill bearing her name. “Blair’s Law” would increase the penalty for recklessly firing guns into the air and, backers hope, raise awareness about how dangerous that practice is.

*Blair Shanahan Lane (Photo courtesy: Michelle Shanahan DeMoss)*

The House had voted in two previous years to pass Blair’s law and this year the Senate concurred, sending it for the first time to the governor’s desk. The proposal was added to Senate Bill 189, which was passed out of the House 109-11 and now awaits the action of Governor Mike Parson (R).

It was news Michele Shanahan DeMoss, the mother of Blair Shanahan Lane, had been working toward and awaiting for more than a decade.

“It started as overwhelming,” DeMoss told House Communications. “Just really quietly thinking like, ‘wow, we’re not going to have to do this again.’”

What DeMoss was realizing she might not have to do again is come to Jefferson City and testify before legislators as she has done multiple times each year since her daughter’s death, each time recounting and reliving the events of July 4, 2011. That was when, while outside celebrating the holiday, Blair was truck in the neck by a bullet fired by someone more than half a mile away who had fired their gun into the air. She died the next day.

“[Testifying on Blair’s Law legislation] has become a pattern of living, and nothing, by any means, that I’m not going to be happy not having to do anymore,” said DeMoss, who quickly adds that a lot of good has come and continues to come out of that effort. “I was reminded by somebody [in the Capitol] when I went to tell them goodbye and they said, ‘No, no, no, you can come back and visit us. You don’t have to come back just because of that. With that being said, just because it’s done doesn’t mean the good things that have happened because of what we’ve been doing for the past 12 years can’t remain.”

Some of that good has come in the form of increased awareness.

“There’s no doubt our conversation and consistent work has definitely made a difference,” said DeMoss.

Police believe firearms are still being discharged into the air, however, especially around holidays like New Year’s Eve. The SoundSpotter system, sound capturing technology that the Kansas City Police Department uses to identify potential gunshots, identified more than 2,300 rounds fired between 6 p.m. December 31, 2022, and 6 a.m. the following morning. That was more than double the total from the previous year.

Representative Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) said a desire to increase awareness that firing guns into the air is not safe was one of his biggest motivations for carrying Blair’s Law.

“The governor signing it, different legislators in their respective districts and cities creating an awareness about it will help, the media will play a real big role in this,” said Sharp.

Sharp is optimistic that the governor will sign Blair’s Law into law, partly based on conversations he’s had with Parson’s staff.

*Michele Shanahan DeMoss (Photo: Michael Lear, Missouri House Communications)*

This was Sharp’s fourth year sponsoring the legislation, joining several other current and former legislators who have carried that proposal since 2011. This year’s version would specify that a person is guilty of unlawful discharge of a firearm if they, with criminal negligence, discharge a firearm in or into the limits of a municipality. A first offense would be a class “A” misdemeanor which carries up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000; a second time would be a class “E” felony carrying up to four years in prison; and third and any subsequent offense would be a class “D” felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

No state law directly addresses “celebratory gunfire.” In Kansas City it is a violation of city ordinance. The man who fired the bullet that killed Blair pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and served 18 months in prison. Had Blair’s Law been in effect, the above penalties could have been applied in addition to that sentence.

Penalties are one thing, but as Sharp and DeMoss said, as much as anything, Blair’s Law has been about awareness.

“Obviously we’ve done press conferences in the past and that’s on the local news too, but I think if it’s talked about on a more regular basis and not just once or twice a year we’ll start to see some more awareness with it,” said Sharp.

Blair’s Law has consistently had broad, bipartisan support, yet it still took 11 legislative sessions before it passed. In spite of that, DeMoss didn’t get frustrated and didn’t give up. She said in many of the past years when the bill didn’t pass, she wondered whether it was because of some oversight on her part, “[before] realizing it was a course of time and, as in a lot of things, it wasn’t for me to have control over. As the years turned, the education and the understanding and the relationships are what were supposed to happen, and it continues happening.”

Sharp said it is because DeMoss persevered that this legislation finally made it to the governor.

“She’s a joy. She is a real joy,” said Sharp, who notes that he knows what it’s like to be around a parent who has lost a daughter, as his own sister died in a domestic violence incident when he was eight.

“The grace that Blair’s mom carries herself with is just first class, top notch, and she could easily be coming to Jefferson City angry that it hasn’t been passed yet. She could easily have been that kind of person but she wasn’t. I think that speaks to her character.”

While waiting to see what Governor Parson will do, DeMoss is taking this latest, farthest progress as a victory.

“The list is very long of thanking people for their support and thanking everybody for continually raising awareness. I think people finally realize it is a tragedy that continues to happen,” she said.

The passage of a law bearing Blair’s name isn’t the only way she is being remembered. Blair has also been honored for being an organ donor, with six of her organs having gone to five people, and DeMoss still runs a charity in her daughter’s name: Blair’s Foster Socks gives socks and other items to children in need.

“We continue to grow and restructure but definitely socks are still coming in and good things are still happening. We just hosted a small group of boy scouts and look forward to distributing some socks. Earlier in the year we had a group that we got together with and made sock puppets … and deliver them to some nursing homes. The socks are just something simple that help us to empower, to uplift, and to give back.”

DeMoss has found it difficult when asked to sum up how she feels with this bill passage, but she recalls a message someone else sent to her, “‘I really wanna say congratulations but the gravity of the reason this law is needed keeps me from celebrating, but we can now be thankful that Missouri now is a safer place to be for future celebrations.’”

Governor Parson has until July 14 to either sign SB 189 into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature. If it becomes law, Blair’s Law would become effective August 28.

Bipartisan effort would create “Blair’s Law,” criminalizing celebratory gunfire

Three Missouri lawmakers are leading a bipartisan effort to criminalize celebratory gunfire. Their bills would create what is called “Blair’s Law,” in honor of 11 year-old Blair Shanahan Lane, who was killed by an errant bullet fired during a 4^th of July celebration in 2011.

Michelle Shanahan DeMoss talks to the House Committee on General Laws. (Photo: Mike Lear, Missouri House Communications)

Representatives Rory Rowland (D-Independence), Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon), and Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) have filed House Bills 722, 795, and 99, respectively. Those were presented to the House Committee on General Laws, which heard from Blair’s mother, Michele Shanahan DeMoss.

“It will be 10 years, July of 2021, since my daughter was fatally struck by a bullet,” said Shanahan DeMoss.

She said her daughter died July 5 and donated six organs to five people.

“She gave, as I’m asking you to give the opportunity for this bill to be passed. It’s a simple request to increase the penalty from a misdemeanor – basically, to me, a parking ticket. A fine, and go on your way, and it happens year after year after year,” said Shanahan DeMoss. “If we can increase the penalty of the crime maybe, maybe somebody doesn’t do it.”

Blair Shanahan Lane (courtesy; Michele Shanahan DeMoss)

Representative Schroer said as he was growing up his family sometimes went to the basement during times of celebration because guns were being fired into the air in the region.

“One of the pillars of responsible gun ownership is knowing where you’re pointing your gun and knowing where that projectile is going to go and where it’s going to land,” said Schroer.

Representative Sharp said between 6pm December 31 and 6am on January 1 in South Kansas City Missouri, at least 12 residences were hit by indiscriminate gunfire.

He said the shot spotter technology employed by police, “indicated about 1,600 shots were fired in Kansas City alone.”

Captain Kari Thompson is the Assistant Division Commander for the Homeland Security Division of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. She said the legislation would make a common sense change in the law.

Representatives Mark Sharp (at left, holding newspaper), Rory Rowland (wearing mask), and Nick Schroer (right) have all sponsored a version of Blair’s Law. (Photo: Mike Lear, Missouri House Communications)

“The question is not ‘if’ this will happen again, it’s ‘when.’ We want to remember that this is, for some families, a family tradition. Let’s go out on the porch or in the back yard and shoot off our weapons in a celebratory manner for 4^th of July, for New Year’s Eve, and now for Super Bowl Sundays,” said Thompson.

Blair was hit in the neck by a bullet fired by a Kansas City man, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He served 18 months in prison. Had one of these measures been in place he could’ve faced additional prison time for the charge it would create.

The committee has not voted on the legislation.

Pronunciations:

DeMoss = dee-moss

Kari = CAR-ee

Schroer = shroe-ur

Rory Rowland = roar-ee roe-land