Socialist New York Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher has argued that people who steal basic products such as toothpaste and soap are driven by “biological need” and should not be thrown in jail. Gallagher, a Brooklyn Democrat and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, made the remarks Thursday during a press conference outside Manhattan Criminal Court. The event was organized alongside Court Watch NYC, which said it had monitored 360 arraignments over four days and found that more than half involved misdemeanor offenses.
“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,” Gallagher said. “We are choosing to protect billion-dollar companies, like CVS and Walgreens, over the people who are struggling to get by.” ”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.”
