Turning sadness and tragedy into action.
The Nykayla Strawder Memorial Act requires police to file a 'child in need of supervision' petition when someone under the age of 10 commits an act that results in the death of another person.
Whether or not the death was an accident.
"The Nykayla Strawder Memorial Act will personify that going forward we're going to make sure these kids get services and there is a streamlined process for our family," said Reynard Parks, Nykayla's cousin.
Following Strawder's death, Baltimore police said they couldn't charge the 9-year-old because a law sponsored by Senator Jill Carter passed in last year's legislative session.
RELATED: Woman charged after young grandson used her gun to kill Nykayla Strawder
"I think that this idea of 'care not cages' is still the absolute right concept we just want to make sure those services are mandatory and not discretionary," Carter said.
Strawder's family recognizes that getting services to young people is a reaction to a tragedy, it doesn't prevent the 9-year-old from picking up and playing with the gun.
"But I think that we have the 6-year-old child in Newport News Virginia, the 9-year-old in this case and the 12-year-old in this case, all three fascinated by firearms, we have a larger issue," Said Dr. Daniel Jarvis, Nykayla's uncle.
They've spoken with Senator Carter about increased penalties for the people who let their guns into the hands of young people.
The grandmother of the 9-year-old was charged in this case, since the gun was reportedly registered to her.
Increased penalties is something Senator Carter is on board with.
"There's an adult somewhere that's responsible for securing that firearm and when a child does something a child is going to do, there's an adult responsible for making sure that doesn't happen," said Carter.
Senator Carter adds these services have been available to law enforcement, but were not always used in these situations.
Several members of Strawder's family testified to lawmakers on this bill.
UPDATE: On Friday, February 24th, the Judicial Proceedings Committee voted to advance the bill to the Senate floor, with some amendments.
