RALEIGH, N.C. -- The father of Jessica Lunsford, the 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in Florida, was back in North Carolina on Wednesday urging lawmakers to approve tougher penalties for child molesters.

Mark Lunsford, who lived in Gaston County for two decades, spoke in support of a bill that would lengthen minimum prison sentences and require child molesters be electronically monitored for life after serving their sentences. The proposal, also backed by more than three dozen Republicans, would be named for his daughter.

"The system has failed me and our children, not just in Florida but across the country," said Lunsford, who has lobbied for similar laws in about 20 states. "What happened to my daughter was because we didn't have these tough laws. But it wasn't just my daughter. There are hundreds and hundreds of children being assaulted daily."

Lunsford lived in Gaston County, west of Charlotte, for nearly 20 years before moving to Florida with his daughter about a year and a half before she was killed in February 2005. John Evander Couey was convicted in the murder, and a Florida jury last month recommended a death sentence.

Mark Lunsford said Couey, who had a history of burglary and sex-related offenses involving children, would have been off the streets or closely monitored had a similar law been in place in Florida when Jessica died.

"I have a lot of family and friends here who have children," Lunsford said. "If we don't pass this legislation and another child gets hurt, then another family lives with the things that I have to live with."

The proposed bill, named the "Jessica Lunsford Act," would require judges to impose sentences of either 25 years in prison or life in prison without parole against individuals convicted of certain sex-related crimes involving children. Offenders released from prison would be monitored electronically for life.

Under current state law, convictions for first-degree rape and sexual offense against children carry a minimum of 12 years in prison, with life imprisonment possible in some cases.

"If we know there's a minimum sentence of 25 years to life, we know for at least 25 years these creeps are not out on the street, preying on some other child," said Rep. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, one of the bill's primary sponsors.

At least 15 states including South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia passed laws last year setting mandatory minimum sentences for certain sex-related offenses against children. The laws are similar to a Florida statute approved after Jessica's death, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Texas, Montana and Tennessee are considering similar proposals this year. The North Carolina bill was sent to a House judiciary subcommittee this week.

Last year, North Carolina legislators approved a law that would prohibit registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare center. Satellite monitoring was initiated for up to 300 of the worst offending registered sex offenders.

Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie, another sponsor, said she was willing to release some nonviolent criminals from prison if it meant having space for the most heinous sex offenders.

Mark Lunsford agreed.

"I'd much rather live next door to a thief than to a child murderer," he said.