A hard-left New York state lawmaker is defending shoplifters who walk out of stores with everyday items, arguing they have a “biological need” for products like soap and toothpaste and should not face consequences for theft.
Democratic Socialist Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher of Brooklyn made the stunning remarks outside Manhattan Criminal Court during a news conference with Court Watch NYC and other progressive activists.
The group claimed to have monitored 360 arraignments over four days and found that more than half involved misdemeanor offenses.
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“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,” said Gallagher.
“And 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,” Gallagher added.
Gallagher, a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, used the platform to push her long-standing “treatment-not-jail” agenda.
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She and fellow left-wing politicians also urged socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fulfill a campaign promise by ending “broken windows” policing that targets quality-of-life offenses such as graffiti and fare evasion.
The comments come as New York City retailers continue to lock everyday products behind plastic cases and glass cabinets because progressive policies have gutted consequences for theft.
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Under current state laws championed by the same soft-on-crime crowd, first-time shoplifters usually avoid jail time.
Yet Gallagher frames corporate self-defense as the real injustice.
Many New Yorkers reacted with disbelief and anger.
Shoppers at a Food Universal supermarket in The Bronx’s Co-op City on Saturday rejected the notion that stealing is somehow justified by poverty.
“It’s foolish to think one should not be punished for stealing. It is a crime,” said Rev. Susan Webb, 68.
“Mamdani can implement that in his [city-run grocery] stores, so if you don’t have the necessities, you can go there and get them for free,” Webb added.
Watch: Brooklyn socialist lawmaker Emily Gallagher defends shoplifting soap and toothpaste as a “biological need,” says protecting CVS and Walgreens from theft is the real injustice. pic.twitter.com/p3W9IBvKcd
— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) August 16, 2026
Jeanette Mack, a 49-year-old academic adviser, called the approach “ridiculous” because “they are enabling [shoplifters] instead of helping them.”
“People are going to feel entitled because they know they can walk in and walk out and nothing will happen,” she said.
“Allowing people to shoplift with no consequence is wrong. I’m a single mom and at one time I had four jobs. I would never think of stealing anything,” Mack said.
“They already closed a Rite Aid [drug store] around here. Now I’m worried that if they put that in place, they are definitely going to close this supermarket, and I would suffer because I’d have to drive to somewhere else instead of walking. And gas price nowadays, that’s another thing.”
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Supermarket manager Edwin Pichado, 33, described the real-world impact on businesses already squeezed by high costs.
“Rent is high,” Pichado said.
“You have to pay workers, utilities. Goods going out, but no money coming in. We cannot run a business like that. If they see that you do nothing, they’ll keep coming back. They tell their friends, and it becomes a free for all,” Pichado added.
NYPD statistics through August 9 show retail theft down 14.7 percent and petit larceny down 5.4 percent compared with the same period last year.
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Conservatives argue those gains remain fragile precisely because left-wing officials keep signaling that enforcement is optional.
Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino of Queens cut to the heart of the matter.
“People like Emily Gallagher try to obfuscate reality because they want to enable this very activity,” she wrote on X.
“They know it’s devastating to retail stores and that’s the point — they’re communists and want to use crime to force these stores to close. It’s social justice,” Paladino added.
“Soon enough we’ll be hearing about the need for government-run drug stores to replace the shops they drove out of business,” Paladino continued.
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Former Queens Councilman Robert Holden, a moderate Democrat, was blunt: “[Gallagher] is a major dope.”
Councilwoman Joann Ariola, also a Queens Republican, warned that businesses are already fighting to survive.
“This is the kind of backwards, left-wing lunacy I would expect from someone who values the rights of criminals more than those of business owners,” Ariola said.
“Policies that Gallagher is pushing are exactly what’s driving so many of them away,” Ariola added.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
