Kirbi Davenport bundled little Kilah up against the March wind and wheeled her over to the front lawn of the jail where Josh Houser has been since last May. That's when police arrested him and accused him of abusing Kilah, who is now disabled.

"I know that I'm protected by being out here but Kilah senses it. It's hard," Kirbi Davenport said.

This is exactly where she wanted to be as she tried to make sure the bill known as Kilah's Law, which was passed Tuesday by the N.C. House, doesn't die in a Senate committee.

"I'm disappointed. I'm angry. I'm hurt," Kirbi Davenport said.

"It is absolutely appalling to be told that this bill doesn't even have a chance of reaching the full floor of the Senate for another few months," said Jeff Gerber with Justice For All Coalition.

Gerber, the man who crafted Kilah's Law to give tougher sentences to child abusers and made it his own personal mission, is worried the Appropriations Committee will stumble over the $800,00 price tag of sending those abusers to prison each year.

The bill's sponsor told Eyewitness News by phone Wednesday afternoon that he's been talking with senate leaders and hopes scenes like this will convince them to act sooner than later.

"I'm going to look for public outcry. I think people in North Carolina want this bill enacted," said Rep. Craig Horn, R-Union County.