Whereas, Michigan law defines stalking as "a ‘willful course of conduct' involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested"; and,

Whereas, The National Institute of Justice indicates that nearly 1.5 million people are victims of stalking annually in the United States, 1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetime, and 81 percent of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner; and,

Whereas, "Stalking and Intimate Partner Femicide," a 1999 study, found that 76 percent of femicide (female intimate partner homicide) victims and 85 percent of attempted femicide victims had been stalked by their intimate partners in the year prior to their murders; and,

Whereas, Many stalkers are former romantic partners of their victims; and,

Whereas, Stalking has, in recent years, become a crime under the laws of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government; and,

Whereas, Michigan passed some of the countries strongest stalking laws in 1993, that have subsequently withstood constitutional scrutiny and challenge; and,

Whereas, The crime of stalking violates an individual's privacy, dignity and security; and,

Whereas, Stalking Awareness Month provides an excellent opportunity for citizens to learn more about stalking and to show support for the numerous organizations and individuals providing advocacy efforts, services and assistance to stalking victims; and now therefore be it,

Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of the State of Michigan, do hereby proclaim January 2008 as Stalking Awareness Month in Michigan, and I encourage all citizens to join in efforts to end this serious problem.