[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2954 Introduced in House (IH)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 2954

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide Federal penalties for 
                               stalking.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 1, 1996

  Mr. Royce introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide Federal penalties for 
                               stalking.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Anti-Stalker Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. TITLE 18 AMENDMENT.

    (a) Offense.--Chapter 41 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 880. Stalking
    ``(a) Whoever, in a circumstance described in subsection (c) of 
this section willfully and maliciously--
            ``(1) repeatedly follows or harasses another person; and
            ``(2) makes a credible threat with the intent to place that 
        person in reasonable fear of the death or serious bodily injury 
        of that person or a member of that person's immediate family;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
    ``(b) The punishment for an offense under subsection (a) of this 
section is--
            ``(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more 
        than one year, or both, in the case of a first conviction under 
        such subsection or a second or subsequent conviction not 
        described in paragraph (2)(B); and
            ``(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more 
        than three years, or both, if the offense--
                    ``(A) violated a restraining order or other court 
                order in effect prohibiting the behavior; or
                    ``(B) is a second or subsequent conviction under 
                this section and is against the same victim as a prior 
                offense under this section.
    ``(c) The circumstance referred to in subsection (a) of this 
section is--
            ``(1) that the offender crossed the border of a State 
        during or for the purposes of the commission of the offense;
            ``(2) that the offender in the course of the offense used 
        the United States mail or a facility in, or instrumentality of 
        interstate commerce, or
            ``(3) the offense occurred in the special maritime and 
        territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
    ``(d) For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) one harasses a person if--
                    ``(A) one knowingly engages in a course of conduct 
                directed specifically at that person;
                    ``(B) that conduct seriously alarms, annoys, or 
                harasses that person but serves no legitimate purpose; 
                and
                    ``(C) the course of conduct is such as would cause 
                a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional 
                distress and does in fact cause substantial emotional 
                distress to the person against whom it is directed;
            ``(2) the term `course of conduct' means a pattern or 
        conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, 
        however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose; and
            ``(3) the term `credible threat' means a threat made with 
        the intent and apparent ability to carry out the threat so as 
        to cause the person who is the target of the threat a 
        reasonable fear for that person's safety.
    ``(e) This section does not prohibit activity protected by the 
Constitution.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 41 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``880. Stalking.''.
                                 <all>