A radical Democratic Socialist lawmaker from New York is under fire after declaring that theft driven by "biological need" shouldn't be treated as a crime, effectively green-lighting shoplifting while slamming big retailers.
Emily Gallagher, a New York State Assembly member and part of the Democratic Socialists of America's New York State Socialists in Office caucus, sparked outrage this week with comments defending petty theft at a press conference outside Manhattan Criminal Court.
"Most of what we saw were crimes of poverty - people who are stealing things like toothpaste, people who were stealing things like, you know, soap. And that means if you're stealing those things, you need them. And we are choosing to protect billion-dollar companies, like CVS and Walgreens, over the people who are struggling to get by," Gallagher said, according to the New York Post.
"So I would say that the true crime is that there is such incredible wealth disparity in this city that there are people who can be thrown in jail simply for having a biological need."
Gallagher went on to tout her soft-on-crime criminal justice "reforms" while blasting conservative media for opposing the anti-law-and-order policies that have already wreaked havoc on New York City and other Democrat-run cities across the country.
However, everyday New Yorkers aren't buying it.
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