Stalking already is a crime in Missouri.
"A person commits the crime of stalking if he or she purposely, through his or her course of conduct, harasses or follows with the intent of harassing another person," state law reads now.
And "harasses" is defined as "to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that serves no legitimate purpose, that would cause a reasonable person under the circumstances to be frightened, intimidated, or emotionally distressed."
The law also has a crime of "aggravated" stalking, a Class D or C felony - which could involve prison time if there's a conviction - and which occurs if the person doing the stalking does something else, too - such as making a "credible threat" or violating an order of protection.
Last week, the state Senate's Judiciary Committee took testimony on two bills that would add to the "aggravated stalking" crime.
Sen. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, would "strengthen the domestic violence laws (and) strengthen the punishment for those who attempt to track down the location of victims of sexual assault, rape, stalking and domestic violence, who are enrolled in the "Safe At Home' address-confidentiality program."
That program in the secretary of state's office began in 2007, and provides a substitute address for those who want it through the secretary of state's office, Walsh reminded committee members last Monday, "which then forwards all mail, and maintains the confidentiality of the participant's (actual) location."
Secretary of State Jason Kander's office said the program already "has protected more than 2,000 Missourians," Walsh reported, adding: "While the program is an incredible success, I also recognize that it is not foolproof. Assailants can still obtain government documents which list participants' names and actual addresses.
"We need to toughen our laws against domestic violence, so that authorities can apprehend, and punish, perpetrators who try to locate survivors who have sought the protection of the state."
She said about 25 percent of all women will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes, and studies have shown that many children witness their parents' domestic violence instances.
John Scott, Kander's political director, told the committee: "We're just trying to make this behavior fall under one of the aggravating factors of the already existing statute."
He said the victims already are "particularly vulnerable, and this is a course of conduct that could, already, be charged as stalking."
No one testified against Walsh's bill, nor against a separate bill sponsored by Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, that would allow a judge to "place a monitoring bracelet on a person who has violated a protection order."
Lace Cline, a University of Missouri second-year law student, told lawmakers that 13 other states already offer GPS tracking of civil protection order violators.
Massachusetts, her research showed, cut the number of domestic homicides from 42 in 2007 - the year they started using the monitoring program - to 15 in 2012, the most recent year that statistics are available.
In that same time period, Missouri went from 35 domestic homicides in 2007 to 70 in 2012.
MU Law Professor Mary Beck told the committee Missouri has had seven domestic homicides since the beginning of this year.
"If we stay on that trajectory, we will have 84 domestic homicides in Missouri this year," she said. "Massachusetts is bigger than we are - they only had 15, two years ago."
She said the monitoring program "could make a real difference" in cutting domestic murders - as well as abuse and assaults where the victims survive.
And Colleen Coble, director the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said Emery's bill includes strong "informed consent" language that victims need.
"There's no guarantee that this is going to ensure the safety of the victim," she said. "It's important that the person who is seeking this redress through the courts knows victims know what the limitations are - and what the obligations are for their participation in making this effective."
She emphasized the electronic monitoring proposal applies only to people who "already have an order of protection - and have violated it."