It should be legal to stalk someone

Why stalking should be illegal Introduction Imagine that you have a child who goes on the internet. Suddenly, a child predator starts stalking him or her and begins blackmailing and making threatening messages. Now imagine that the police wouldn't help you because stalking isn't a crime. Stalking, the unwanted or obsessive attention by one party towards another, can cause debilitating psychological trauma towards its victims. Victims often need to switch workplaces and move over and over again to escape their stalkers. [1] Since society ought to protect these victims, it would be in the best interests of society to ban stalking. As such, I, as con, proudly oppose the motion "it should be legal to stalk". Burdens Since both debaters in this debate appear to agree that stalking is bad, all that I need to prove to win this debate is that banning stalking would reduce stalking, and that the costs of banning stalking are not outweighed by the benefits of reducing stalking. On the other hand, I argue that Pro needs to prove one of the two following statements to be true: 1. that legalizing stalking would reduce stalking, or that 2. that legalizing stalking would not make stalking rates rise enough to outweigh the costs of enforcing stalking. Signpost In order to fulfill my burden, I shall bring two points to the table: "benefits to victims" and "benefits to perpetrators". However, before that, I shall address my opponent's points. Rebuttals Responsibility of the victims Pro argues that it is the responsibility of stalking victims to stop stalking. This is illogical; it is inconsistent with our entire current legal system. If victims of crime are completely responsible for preventing it, then there would be no need for authorities to try to prevent any crime. Thus, if Pro's logic is extended, we would need to also allow murder, rape, genocide, slavery, and more. Reduction of stalking Pro also argues that legalizing stalking would cause victims to take more responsibility, thereby eliminating or heavily reducing stalking. This is untrue. No matter how careful a victim is, he or she can never be as effective in protecting him or herself from stalking as the police and other authorities because the authorities are better trained and have more access to resources. Thus, legalizing stalking would lead to victims becoming less protected and therefore create more stalking. False accusations of stalking Pro argues that one harm of stalking laws is that they can lead to false accusations, and some of those who are falsely accused end up being punished. I argue that this is true for any law; thus, under my opponent's logic, all crimes would need to be legalized. The only way for Pro's argument to make sense is if he proves that the harms of false stalking accusations would outweigh the benefits of having stalking laws; he would need to produce statistics about false accusations and analyze their impacts. Constructive points Now that I have refuted my opponent's points, I shall put forward my own. I argue that stalking occurs between two actors: the stalkers, and the victims. By banning stalking, we are acting in the best interests of both. 1. Benefits to victims Banning stalking would reduce stalking, and therefore alleviate the stress stalking puts on victims. This is because stalking laws provide a disincentive to stalk by imposing a punishment, most likely prison sentences, over stalkers. When would-be stalkers have less of an incentive to stalk, they would be more likely to choose not to stalk. When we legalize stalking, we would be putting the burden to prevent stalking onto its victims. Thus, we would be creating much stress for them as they repeatedly change their workplaces, residences, phone numbers, and online accounts to avoid stalkers. 2. Benefits to perpetrators Some stalkers stalk because of mental disorders such as antisocial, borderline, or narcissistic personality disorder. [1] When we legalize stalking, authorities would cease to investigate incidences of it, and more cases of stalking would therefore go unreported. This means that fewer stalkers who commit their crimes due to mental illness would be treated. Those who have mental illness deserve care and help to make them better, and abolishing anti-stalking laws would deprive stalkers of such help. Conclusion In this debate, I have proven two things: firstly, that my opponent's objections to stalking laws are flawed, and secondly, that stalking laws benefit all relevant parties. Thus, I urge you to vote against the motion that "it should be legal to stalk someone." Sources [1]https://en.wikipedia.org...