a federal crime for anyone to cross state lines to do bodily injury to a spouse or intimate partner. Those who cross state lines to do bodily injury to a spouse or intimate partner can be sentenced to prison for up to ten years if they use dangerous weapons, twenty years if they cause life-threatening injuries, and for life if they kill their victim. Stalkers and those under court orders to stay away from their victims can be prosecuted as criminals if they travel from one state to another to harass or injure their victims. Stalkers and those under court orders are restricted from buying firearms. Anyone who has been convicted of any offense involving domestic violence or stalking can be prosecuted for continuing to own or to acquire a firearm. (Stalking and Violence)
             It is not enough for someone to be obsessed with another person to be defined as a stalker. It also depends on the severity of the obsession, but a man who sits around and thinks about Pamela Anderson is not stalking her. It is when the person begins acting on their obsession; i.e. phone calls, driving by someone's house, e-mails, etc, it is then that stalking can be identified. Although there is no single profile of a stalker, many can be identified. We will look at three: erotomania-type stalker, love obsessional-type stalker, and simple obsessional-type stalker. We will also briefly explore a new phenomenon, on-line stalking.
             Erotomania is the delusional belief that the stalker is passionately loved by an unattainable victim, usually a celebrity, and is classified diagnostically as a delusional disorder known as 'de Clerambault's syndrome.' Eroto means 'sexual passion' and mania means 'possessiveness.' In the case of celebrities, David Letterman has had a 'wife' for many years now, and in 1981 John Hinckley, Jr. attempted to assassinate then-president Ronald Reagan to prove his love to movie star Jodie Foster....