The Senate Judiciary Committee it considering legislation that would expand the crime of unlawful use of weapons to include the discharge of a firearm into the air for celebratory purposes in an urban area.
Senator Yvonne Wilson (D-Kansas City) sponsors the bill, as she has done in a number of previous years, saying this is a common occurrence in urban areas just prior to and just after midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Wilson acknowledges that while this might not be a problem in many parts of Missouri, it is a problem in Kansas City and other urban areas. She says a state law is needed because it would bring state law enforcement officials into the mix to help local authorities deal with a situation that she finds intolerable.
The hearing ended with the committee taking no vote on the legislation.