{"id":4497,"date":"2026-08-16T16:06:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T16:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497"},"modified":"2026-08-16T16:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T16:06:22","slug":"socialist-lawmaker-suggests-shoplifters-should-get-pass-if-they-steal-for-biological-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497","title":{"rendered":"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/p>\n
\n

A New York socialist lawmaker says people who swipe basic goods from stores shouldn\u2019t face charges because they have a \u201cbiological need\u201d for what they take.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Will Come Back To Bite You\u2019: Top FDA Official Asked Fauci For Vaccine Side Effect Study, Email Shows<\/a><\/p>\n

State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher made the argument Thursday at a news conference outside Manhattan Criminal Court, according to the New York Post. Gallagher is a Democrat who represents parts of northern Brooklyn. She told reporters that most theft cases she had reviewed involved essentials, and that arresting anyone over such items amounts to punishing poverty.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost 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\u2019re stealing those things, you need them,\u201d Gallagher said in a video posted on X. She added that the city protects \u201cbillion-dollar companies, like CVS and Walgreens\u201d over struggling residents, and called it a \u201ctrue crime\u201d that people can be jailed \u201csimply for having a biological need.\u201d (RELATED: Democrats Want ID For Hot Pockets But Not For Voting?)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gallagher joined other left-wing officials and advocates from Court Watch NYC at the event, the Post reported. The group said it tracked 360 arraignments across four days and found more than half involved misdemeanor charges. The officials pressed Mayor Zohran Mamdani to abandon \u201cbroken windows\u201d enforcement targeting low-level offenses.<\/p>\n

Read more City In Anti-2A State Has 7 Times The Murders Of Cities In State That Respects Gun Rights<\/a><\/p>\n

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Gallagher wants to swap jail for treatment and has backed easing penalties on fare evasion and public urination, according to Todd Starnes. She shared the clip on her own X account, writing that no one should be arrested or jailed for taking toothpaste. Her district covers Williamsburg and Greenpoint.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Retail theft fell 15.3% across the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same stretch last year, with drops in all five boroughs, according to NYPD data. Fox 5 New York reported the city is tracking toward its safest year on record. Retailers have locked merchandise behind plastic cases as Walgreens estimates roughly $250,000 in losses per store, Starnes reported.<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Joann Ariola told the Post that lawmakers \u201cnow advocating for thievery is going to push even more of them to close shop.\u201d Councilwoman Vickie Paladino wrote on X that officials like Gallagher \u201cwant to enable this very activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Who\u2019s To Blame For AI Breaking Containment? Turns Out The Answer Is More Complicated<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York socialist Emily Gallagher says people who steal soap and toothpaste shouldn\u2019t be charged, claiming \u2018biological need\u2019, as theft data drops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1333,87,3795],"class_list":["post-4497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-democratic-socialists","tag-new-york","tag-shoplifters"],"yoast_head":"\nSocialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019 - Home Transfer Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019 - Home Transfer Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New York socialist Emily Gallagher says people who steal soap and toothpaste shouldn\u2019t be charged, claiming \u2018biological need\u2019, as theft data drops.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Transfer Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-16T16:06:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529\"},\"headline\":\"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-16T16:06:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497\"},\"wordCount\":440,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8b27c4afa69eee7ba2644a351ac15f0d.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"democratic socialists\",\"new york\",\"shoplifters\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497\",\"name\":\"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019 - Home Transfer Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8b27c4afa69eee7ba2644a351ac15f0d.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-16T16:06:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8b27c4afa69eee7ba2644a351ac15f0d.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8b27c4afa69eee7ba2644a351ac15f0d.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":549},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?p=4497#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Transfer Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hometransferguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019 - Home Transfer Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019 - Home Transfer Guide","og_description":"New York socialist Emily Gallagher says people who steal soap and toothpaste shouldn\u2019t be charged, claiming \u2018biological need\u2019, as theft data drops.","og_url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497","og_site_name":"Home Transfer Guide","article_published_time":"2026-08-16T16:06:22+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529"},"headline":"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019","datePublished":"2026-08-16T16:06:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497"},"wordCount":440,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8b27c4afa69eee7ba2644a351ac15f0d.webp","keywords":["democratic socialists","new york","shoplifters"],"articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497","url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497","name":"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019 - Home Transfer Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8b27c4afa69eee7ba2644a351ac15f0d.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-16T16:06:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8b27c4afa69eee7ba2644a351ac15f0d.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8b27c4afa69eee7ba2644a351ac15f0d.webp","width":1280,"height":549},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=4497#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Socialist Lawmaker Suggests Shoplifters Should Get Pass If They Steal For \u2018Biological Need\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/","name":"Home Transfer Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47c12a8611db56d3441574d894569529","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/hometransferguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}