Gabby Act, named after Bristol shooting victim Gabby Kennedy, signed into law
BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) — After at least three years of hard work, the Bristol community is proud of the news that the Gabby Act has been signed into law.
Senate Bill 2514/ House Bill 2643, known as the Gabby Act, requires an assistant district attorney from every county to be assigned as the lead prosecutor for cases involving crimes against children. Additionally, it requires these attorneys to attend regular training for the prosecution of these cases.
“It can ensure that everything is handled and things don’t get lost or pushed under the table or just overworked,” said Trevor Lee, who has worked alongside the family of the person who inspired the bill, Gabby Kennedy, and local sponsors of the bill, Rep. John Crawford and Sen. Jon Lundberg. “You have a specific attorney designated to all crimes against children so they’ll get the necessary care and attention they deserve in their cases.”
Gabby Kennedy and her mother Kristina Robinson were shot in 2020 at their home on Trammel Road.
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Authorities believe Gabby and Kristina were the victims of a murder-suicide by Gabby’s step-father, Matthew Robinson. Matthew was under investigation by the Bristol Police Department and the Department of Children’s Services. He had an active warrant in Russell County, Virginia, where he lived, for his arrest.
Lee was a former classmate of Gabby and created the Gabby Foundation in her name. He’s been working with legislators and Gabby’s family since 2021 to put legislation in her name as well.
“I’m hoping that this will ensure that less children fall through the cracks and they all get the necessary justice and safety that they deserve,” Lee said.
It was Lee who gave Gabby’s father, Jesse Kennedy, his long-awaited news that the act had been signed into law.
“(Lee) had messaged me sometime during the night and I woke up to that message and it was like waking up on Christmas morning,” Jesse Kennedy said.
Gabby’s Act originally was introduced last legislative session with an alert system, called the Purple Alert, that would help find victims of domestic violence or assault who were reported missing. Sen. Lundberg said the bill kept dying in committees due to funding issues, so that had to be changed.
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“This is the next best thing that we could do is requiring that communication and that discussions amongst district attorneys and different judicial districts,” Lundberg said.
Gabby was known by the community as being a bright light. Jesse and Trevor carry this memory of her every day, and now, the state can feel her light too.
“I’ve never seen a loss impact a community as much as this one did,” Lee said. “I just hope that Gabby and Kristina look down and they’re proud of (themselves) for the way that their legacy has paved change in our state, and they’re proud of their family for all of the resiliency that’s gone into this.”
“The big thing is, if it helps one person, then we’ve accomplished something,” said Jesse Kennedy. “Trevor has accomplished something that’s just bigger than he and I, and bigger than Gabby and Kristina. This is going to be something that is going to affect people from here on out and in a good way.”
The Gabby Act was signed into law on April 4 and went into effect immediately.
Lee said he’s working with federal partners to get the Purple Alert put in place. He also is pushing to get similar legislation to the Gabby Act passed in neighboring states. Both Trevor and Jesse said this would have helped in Gabby’s situation with her stepfather being a resident of Virginia.
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