(Image source: Orange County Sheriff's Office)

BY: JENNIFER MECKLES

Casey Anthony’s NOT GUILTY verdict sent shock waves across the country -- as many believe the mother of 2 year old Caylee Anthony got away with murder.

The outcome prompted a push for new legislation to punish parents who don’t report missing children.

It started as an online petition on Change.org -- calling for states to enact a new law that would make it:

“A felony for a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker to not notify law enforcement of the disappearance of a child within 24 hours, so proper steps can be taken to find that child before it's too late.”

The push for what’s being called “Caylee’s Law” is on the federal level, but state-by-state it’s picking up steam too -- from Anthony’s home state of Florida...

BILL HAGER, R-FLORIDA: “If we have parallel situations that arise in the future, my bill would address the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian to provide very quick reporting." (Video: Fox News)

To Kentucky --

“Representative Henderson said he filed this bill after talking to constituents concerned with all the drama unfolding in a Florida courtroom. He says he hopes this bill will correct what he calls a “gray area” in Kentucky’s law.” (Video: WKYT)

To Oklahoma:

“State representative Paul Wesselhoft and Oklahoma City senator Greg Treat are calling for a misdemeanor or felony for not reporting your child dead within 24 hours or missing within 48.” (Video: KOTV)

But not everyone is convinced the movement is a good idea. Salon says this is just the latest in a long line of legislative movements spurred by the violent deaths of children:

“These sorts of bills have a checkered past. When tragedies like Caylee Anthony's spur populist, outrage-fueled laws, the resulting legislation often draws criticism for being purely reactive, overly indiscriminating and even counter-productive.”

And the Wall Street Journal explains -- creating a federal law like this, isn’t exactly legal. As Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe explains:

“...criminal laws usually fall within the realm of state jurisdictions. When Congress does enact them, however, it does so under the Constitution’s commerce clause, which applies to cases that significantly impact interstate commerce. ... the proposed “Caylee’s Law” would fail to meet that test and would not hold up at the federal level.”

As of Friday, the online petition already had more than 470,000 signatures. Casey Anthony is expected to be released from jail July 17th.