KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Tuesday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed Blair's Law making celebratory gunfire illegal statewide.
The law is named after 11-year-old Blair Shanahan Lane, who was struck by celebratory gunfire on July 4, 2011, and died from her injury a day later. Her mother, Michele Shanahan DeMoss, played a pivotal role in getting this legislation signed into law, which will go into effect on Aug. 28.
DeMoss said she felt lighter after walking out of the Missouri Capitol on Tuesday.
"Today, I have a lot of, a lot of emotion just trying to make sense of everything, but mostly it’s gratitude," DeMoss said Wednesday about how she feels following the bill signing.
DeMoss said following the bill signing, she is going to take some time to rest before getting active in the community again.
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The legislation is something DeMoss has worked toward for the last 13 years.
“The legacy is powerful, and it’s powerful because it’s potentially going to save lives," she said.
DeMoss worked closely with Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Republican, and Missouri Rep. Mark Sharp, a Democrat, to get this bill across the finish line.
“Yesterday was, it was a great day," Sharp said on Wednesday.
Sharp said the work is not over.
"I think me and her (DeMoss) are going to be going around to different high schools when the fall starts back up here, to make sure young people know how dangerous this is, and to not be peer pressured into performing such acts,” he said.
The work also goes beyond being cemented into Missouri law.
"We still have to have this law enforced and we still have to have this law prosecuted," he said.
Blair's legacy will live on in another way, too — a Girl Scouts project she envisioned that would provide socks to foster kids after she witnessed foster care in her own home. DeMoss runs the nonprofit Blair's Foster Socks.
“Socks, we always just thought were fun, happy, uplifting, you know, encouraging, you know," DeMoss said. "They’re kind of like your powerful socks, you’re leaving with these socks, they’re going to carry you somewhere fun and special."
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