Ohio lawmakers unanimously passed legislation to make Airtag stalking a crime, with the family of a domestic violence victim cheering them on.
It’s been two and a half years since Teresa Gajkowski lost her younger sister, Heidi Moon.
“I feel very alone without her,” Gajkowski said Tuesday.
And she misses her sister every day.
“If I had anything that I needed, she was always right there,” Gajkowski said through tears.
In 2022, Moon met with a private investigator about concerns that her ex-boyfriend was stalking her. The PI found an Apple AirTag tracker in her car.
Akron Police say four hours later, Moon’s ex shot and killed her before turning the gun on himself.
In one text, Moon indicated Mima told her, “You’re lucky I don’t put a bullet in your b**** a**.”
“I’ve been trying to adjust to life without my sister, trying to figure out why it happened, how could we have prevented it?” Gajkowski said.
But even if Moon had gone to the police after discovering the Airtag, they wouldn’t have been able to do much. Currently, in Ohio, putting an electronic tracker tracking in someone’s car isn’t its own crime.
But state Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) said police could be able to do more soon.
“We want to make sure that’s outlawed and that we’re protecting these potential victims,” state Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) said.
The House passed Senate Bill 100, making it a crime to put or install a tracking device on someone else’s property without their consent.
This would be a first-degree misdemeanor but could be raised to a fourth-degree felony if stalking is a repeated pattern or if there is a history of violence from the perpetrator.
Failing to remove the tracker after consent has been revoked would also be a crime. There is also a provision stating that there is a presumption that consent has been revoked in the cases of divorce or in the request or issuing of a protection order.
Manning introduced the bill with fellow Northeast Ohio lawmaker Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood).
“We are pleased S.B. 100 as amended will protect citizens,” Antonio said. “I am sure that this bill will save lives, especially those in domestic violence situations.”
There are also exceptions for the following: law enforcement; parents or legal guardians of minors; caregivers for elderly adults or adults with disabilities; someone acting on behalf of a business entity; owner or lessee of a motor vehicle; person who has ownership or contractual interest of the property — like a tracker on a company computer that an employee takes home from work; individual who deals with aircraft that may hold people who may not be aware the plane has a tracker and a surety bail bond agent.
The bill passed unanimously.
“It’s important to get this passed so we can protect those potential victims out there and make sure that these air tags are being used for good things and not these stalking-type situations,” Manning added.
Situations like Moon’s
“Do you think that if this legislation had been in law, this could have saved her life?” we asked Gajkowski.
“Possible — well, actually, yes,” she responded. “They could have went and apprehended him.”
Lawmakers could be going further, she added, but this is a great first step.
“That’s what we need to celebrate that, somebody can’t just put a tracker on you and taunt you and scare you,” the sister said.
Antonio and Manning agree that more needs to be done.
“We should be absolutely doing more to provide safety and security for all who experience violence and threats in domestic violence situations,” the Democrat said. “We definitely should look at how we hold perpetrators accountable.”
For Gajkowski, she wants more mental health resources for everyone — so that this behavior can be curbed before it starts.
“But we need to celebrate these little victories,” she said.
Gov. Mike DeWine’s team declined to comment on the legislation. Due to it passing out of each chamber unanimously, it is likely he will sign it.
Help is available for those in a domestic violence situation. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233. You can also text START to 88788. The Ohio Domestic Violence Network has a directory of local support groups around the state.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
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