A bill outlawing celebratory gunfire passes Missouri legislature, awaits Governor Parson’s signature

South KC Perspective

By John Sharp

Blair’s Law designed to deter the scourge of sometimes deadly celebratory gunfire that has gotten worse and worse in KCMO and other Missouri cities in recent years by making it a serious state offense overwhelmingly passed the Missouri House of Representatives on May 17 and now awaits the governor’s expected signature to become law.

The measure passed the House by a vote of 130 to 5 with 14 legislators voting present with only hours to spare before mandatory adjournment of this year’s legislative session as part of the Senate version of a 69-page omnibus anticrime bill sponsored by State Senator Tony Luetkemeyer of Parkville which was a combination of Senate Bill 754 and six other bills.  It earlier passed the Senate 23-10.

Blair’s Law is named for 11-year-old Blair Shanahan Lane who died in Kansas City after being struck by celebratory gunfire during the July 4 holiday in 2011 while playing in the yard.

Her mother, Michele Shanahan DeMoss, has made it her life’s mission since then to warn people of the dangers of celebratory gunfire and to pass legislation stiffening the penalties for it by making it a state criminal offense instead of just a city ordinance violation.  She watched the House debate and vote on the bill from the side gallery on the House floor and received a standing ovation from House members.

DeMoss said in an interview she talked to the five representatives who voted against the omnibus bill, and they all assured her it wasn’t because they opposed Blair’s Law.

She also noted her determination to continue to warn people about the dangers of celebratory and indiscriminate gunfire and her gratitude for the support she has received during her long struggle to see Blair’s Law enacted.

“This is my 13th year working on this legislation.  That’s longer than Blair lived,” she said.

While legislation to crackdown on celebratory and indiscriminate gunfire has been introduced in the legislature every year since Blair’s death by numerous area state legislators including DaRon McGee who is now a member of the Jackson County Legislature, and my son, State Representative Mark Sharp, who has introduced it each of the five years he has been in office, it didn’t pass until last year when it was part of an extremely lengthy omnibus anticrime bill.

That bill was vetoed by Governor Mike Parson because of his objections to other provisions in the lengthy bill which are not part of this year’s omnibus bill.  Parson has assured my son that he plans to sign the current version of the bill and that he intends to have the signing ceremony in Kansas City.

Blair’s Law provides that a person commits a state criminal offense of unlawful discharge of a firearm if he or she “recklessly discharges a firearm within or into the limits of any municipality” with several specified exceptions for law enforcement personnel or such as being in an indoor shooting range, acting in self-defense or in defense of others or being more than one mile away from any occupied residence.

The first offense is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment not to exceed one year.  A second offense is a Class E felony punishable by imprisonment not to exceed four years, and subsequent offenses are Class D felonies punishable by imprisonment not to exceed seven years.

When signed by the governor, the legislation will go into effect on August 28.  

Its effectiveness will depend on educating the public – especially younger persons who have been known to engage in this behavior more often than older age groups – that bullets can fall to earth with deadly velocity and also educating them about the much stiffer criminal penalties for such behavior.  

Its effectiveness also will depend on police departments’ willingness to enforce the law, on county prosecutors’ willingness to file state charges for such activity and on the news media publicizing such enforcement activities.