Overland Park ? Karla O’Malley was upset when she heard that an Arkansas teenager she had stopped to comfort after a Christmas Eve car accident in Overland Park had died. But she was outraged when she went to post condolences on a memorial website for the teenager and found that it included hurtful and offensive comments about the boy’s death.

In response, O’Malley, of Overland Park, has collected 200 supporters for an online petition seeking a federal law that would ban the posting such comments photos on website memorial pages. She also is seeking help from Kansas Rep. Kevin Yoder, whose office is reviewing the matter.

While acknowledging that such a law would limit free speech rights, O’Malley said she believes those rights should not supersede common decency.

“I am not a legal expert by any means,” she told The Kansas City Star. “I just have a strong, burning inside to make this stop. Protesters can voice their opinions elsewhere, but there is a time and place for mourners to be left alone.”

O’Malley, a human resources officer for a nonprofit social services agency, comforted 17-year-old Travis Storm McAfee of Fort Smith, Ark., after coming upon the accident that happened while he was visiting Overland Park. After he died, friends created a memorial page on Facebook.

O’Malley said someone posted on the website that he or she had laughed and wished McAfee had suffered even more. Another person posted a photo of the accident scene with the comment, “Oops, I died.”

With no legal training or help, O’Malley drafted what she is calling Travis’ Law, which would make it a federal crime to post statements or photos on memorial websites “with the intent to hurt or create a hostile environment.” The draft says “customary standards” would determine what is hurtful or hostile.