After Kansas City girl’s death, Missouri took 13 years to ban celebratory gunfire

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Eleven-year-old Blair Shanahan Lane was laughing with family and celebrating the Fourth of July when she was struck by a stray bullet in Kansas City.

She was pronounced dead at Children’s Mercy the next day on July 5, 2011.

“In a million years, I would have never thought I’d be sitting in a chair to tell you that my daughter was struck by a bullet,” said Michele Shanahan DeMoss, Blair’s mother.

More than 13 years after Shanahan Lane’s death, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson last week signed into law “Blair’s Law,” which is aimed at stopping celebratory gunfire. The law , which takes effect on Aug. 28, specifically outlaws the act of recklessly discharging a firearm within or into the limits of any municipality.

Parson’s signature was met with a round of applause at the state Capitol. The Republican governor said he wanted to celebrate the “yearslong effort by Blair’s family and friends to help ensure such a tragedy doesn’t happen again.”

But while supporters touted the bill finally becoming law, many have pointed to how long it took Missouri to pass it. The years-long journey also came as Kansas City has struggled with gun violence, breaking annual homicide records in 2020 and 2023.

The Kansas City Police Department has reported 19 shootings and nine homicides on the Fourth of July since 2019, according to agency data. The department’s Shotspotter surveillance system has also detected more than 650 rounds fired off on the holiday since 2019.

The KCPD data provided to The Star also shows a large amount of firearm rounds detected on New Year’s Eve each year, totaling more than 4,300 since 2019.

Since Blair Shanahan Lane’s death, Missouri lawmakers have filed numerous bills aimed at enacting Blair’s Law. Year after year, the legislation failed to cross the finish line.

It was an uphill climb with numerous distractions along the way. Over the years, sponsors of the bill termed out of office. One session ended early due to filibusters. A governor resigned in disgrace.

“There were times that, you know, I pictured myself just beelining straight up to grab the gavel to be like, listen, we need to have a conversation — I can’t come here another year,” said Shanahan DeMoss.

Former Reps. Mike Talboy, a Kansas City Democrat, and Noel Torpey, an Independence Republican, were two of the first lawmakers to push versions of the bill in the years after Shanahan Lane’s death. Torpey said in an interview that he was surprised by opposition to the bill, particularly because Republican-led Arizona passed a similar law in 2000.

“I was actually, you know, a little taken aback because they had done it in some states at the time,” he said. “Missouri wasn’t as red as it is today and Arizona was very similar, you know, or considered a very pro-gun state, and they passed it.”

One of the groups that opposed the legislation when it was first filed was the National Rifle Association, Torpey said. The group has since taken a neutral stance on the bill, he said.

“They never had a good answer other than they didn’t want anything to change,” he said. “Thankfully, over the years, they, I think, recognized, ‘hey, this is a good public policy, and it’s not anti-gun, it’s public safety.’”

A representative from the NRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Supporters of the legislation scored a major victory last year when lawmakers approved a version of the bill attached to a sweeping public safety package. But Parson vetoed it , citing unrelated provisions included in the larger legislation.

Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican who sponsored the larger bill, said he received a call from the governor’s office informing him of the veto on July 3, 2023.

“I remember thinking this is just the worst news that you could think of because it was the day before the anniversary of Blair’s death,” Luetkemeyer said.

That day, he called Shanahan Demoss, Blair’s mom, he said.

“I told her the first bill that we’re going to send through the Judiciary Committee next session is going to be Blair’s Law, and you have my commitment to get it back on the governor’s desk and signed into law,” he said.

‘Blair’s Law’ finally signed

The main sponsor of the legislation since 2020 has been Rep. Mark Sharp, a Kansas City Democrat who picked it up from the previous sponsor, former Rep. DaRon McGee from Kansas City.

As someone who’s had to bury a friend due to gun violence, Sharp said in an interview that the bill spoke to him. In 2006, he was invited to attend a party with his friend, 20-year-old Nathan Buie Jr. He ended up not going. Buie Jr. and another man, DeMarco Carter-Harvey, were shot and killed at the party after a fight broke out, he said.

“I can’t say how many times growing up, or high school age, going to a party somewhere and somebody shooting their gun in the air, trying to be cool or trying to be threatening,” he said. “There’s always been this very loose attitude towards firearms, specifically in the urban communities.”

Sharp said that he hopes the legislation can change the temperature and tone surrounding guns in the Missouri General Assembly.

“You shouldn’t be recklessly discharging a firearm within the city limits, period,” he said. “And that’s what I’m hoping folks will take from this.”

Missouri has among the most relaxed gun laws in the nation . Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled General Assembly have steadily chipped away at restrictions, effectively creating an atmosphere that has contributed to the proliferation of firearms.

While championing the bill’s passage, Kansas City-area leaders also pointed to the lengthy delay in getting Blair’s Law signed.

Mayor Quinton Lucas, in a statement to The Star, called it “an important and overdue piece of legislation.”

“We hope that increasing the punishment for reckless, deadly behavior will make offenders think twice before firing guns in the air,” he said. “We will continue to build ways to ensure the safety of Kansas City’s children and families.”

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement that it “pays to be persistent.” She said she was grateful to Tolboy, the former state representative, who worked with her on drafting the first version of Blair’s Law.

“I am grateful for the representatives who continued to file this bill while experiencing multiple defeats,” she said. “While it is much too late for Blair, perhaps it will save another from such great harm.”

Preventing gun violence

The new law states that a person commits the offense of unlawful discharge of a firearm if, with criminal negligence, “he or she discharges a firearm within or into the limits of a municipality.”

First offenders are guilty of a class A misdemeanor and repeat offenders can be charged with felonies, according to the law.

Sharp signaled that he had to fight hard for a Democratic-led bill dealing with firearms to get attention in the GOP-controlled General Assembly. He pointed to support from Republicans, who he said helped get the bill across the finish line.

“I do think that with the passage of Blair’s Law, we could see a bigger appetite for firearm responsibility and some provisions that might try to address what’s really plaguing some of our cities, like Kansas City and St. Louis, with the gun violence,” he said.

Shanahan Moss, Blair’s mom, said the journey to getting the bill signed into law was frustrating. But she said she got up each day knowing that her purpose — making a difference — was important.

“I didn’t have control over that bullet taking Blair’s life, but I had control over getting up, regardless of how I felt, how I looked, without any hesitation,” she said.

She said her daughter’s story has traveled across the country. On major holidays such as New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July, she said she has received hundreds of messages from people thanking her.

“I would do everything differently just to keep her here,” she said. “But I would walk back through that door in Jefferson City again.”

She said she plans to continue educating people about firearm safety and the importance of calling 911 if an individual witnesses an emergency.

“We have to continue saying, if you see something, say something,” she said.