On the recordSeptember 13, 2012
I am pleased to follow the Senator from Minnesota because we did work on a piece of legislation, which she perfected. It was my bill that first passed on stalking that would take the antistalking laws nationwide because so often it happens across State lines, and so we had to put it all together so that if someone did cross State lines to stalk a woman or her children or a man or anyone, that would be prosecutable. I was so pleased Senator Klobuchar then came with a bill which I was proud to cosponsor which updated the technology criminals now use to harass, scare and really make life miserable for people they know. I had a stalker myself for about 12 years. I didn't know him, but he certainly did make my life different, that is for sure. And sometimes it is worse than what I experienced because there are actual threats. I will never forget the time I got a call from an attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Austin, TX, and he said: I just wanted you to know we got our first conviction under your antistalking law. It was a man who was harassing his ex-wife and his children, threatening them with a gun, and we were able to put him away and make that family a lot safer. I thought, you know, we live to actually know something we have done makes a difference. So I thank the Senator from Minnesota for carrying that forward.…
