10 federal US laws that are named after real people and the shocking stories behind them

• Laws named after people are often created so they can protect others.
• The most recent federal law to be named after a person was signed into existence in February.
• The murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. created a law to raise the penalties for all hate crimes.
• Adam Walsh's abduction led to increased funding for sex offender management.

Many federal laws are named after the people whose stories or situations inspired them. In many cases, a harrowing incident led to individuals, family members, and communities rallying and campaigning for laws that could make the US a safer place. 

Here's the story behind the creation of 10 laws that were named after people.

Ryan White inspired a bipartisan law to help people affected by HIV and AIDS.

Ryan White was 13 years old when he received a blood transfusion for his hemophilia that was contaminated with HIV in 1984. Diagnosed with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, White was told by the superintendent in the district that he would not be able to return to school. White faced AIDS-related discrimination from other students, school officials, and people in his town in Indiana.

White and his family advocated against the stigma of the disease and for blood donations to be tested for HIV. President George H.W. Bush later signed "The Ryan White CARE Act" into legislation in 1990 (the same year as White's death), providing the country with assistance for comprehensive cost-efficient diagnosing and treatment services for communities disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic.

Read More: 6 common myths about HIV and AIDS

Brady's Law impacted how firearms are sold.

In 1981, an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley Jr. resulted in the injury of four people, including the president and then-press secretary James S. Brady (who survived despite being shot in the head). Authorities discovered that Hinckley Jr. bought multiple guns in the years leading up to the shooting.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 or Brady's Law lead to the establishment of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that all licensees must contact before selling a firearm to an unlicensed individual unless the state has alternative provisions and permits in place.

The formation of sex registries was created in 1994 as part of Jacob Wetterling's law.

Jacob Wetterling was just 11 years old when he was abducted and murdered in 1989. His killer wasn't identified until 2016 when he was in custody for child pornography charges.

As one of many young boys sexually assaulted in that area from 1988-1989, the publicity of his case helped legislators choose his name for the law. As part of the Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Wetterling Act required states to create sex offender registries, add a heightened class for "sexually violent predators," require address verification, and provide procedures to protect the public.