JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed several bills into law on Tuesday, including legislation to criminalize celebratory gunfire and fleeing from police.
The bills are more commonly known as “Blair’s Law” and “Valentine’s Law,” two parts of a larger crime bill Parson has signed into law.
The first was named after Blair Lane, a girl fatally struck by celebratory gunfire during the Fourth of July in 2011. The second was named after Antonio Valentine, a former St. Louis County detective killed in the line of duty after a suspect fled from an attempted traffic stop in December 2021.
Blair’s Law will criminalize anyone who unlawfully discharges a firearm with criminal negligence. According to the legislation, “a person commits the offense of unlawful discharge of a firearm if he or she recklessly discharges a firearm within or into the limits of a municipality.”
Violations would result in a misdemeanor after one offense and felony charges after any additional offenses.
The full article is available at ozarksfirst.com.
(Story by Joey Schneider, Emily Manley, ozarksfirst.com)
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