Monday, August 27, 2007

Protecting Shoplifters

Conservatives, when it comes right down to it, don't care how you earn your money. Whether or not you make your money fleecing the stupid, poisoning children, scamming the elderly, or shooting Wolverine repeatedly with a gauss gun, they don't care. In fact it's every American's God given right to earn money by fleecing the stupid, poisoning children, scamming the elderly or shooting Wolverine repeatedly with a gauss gun.

So it's not surprising to see Kevin McCullough arguing against Security Systems put in place to stop shoplifting. He does so in the name of "decency."
See if the owner of the hotel, the proprietor of the lingerie boutique, or the manager of any of the major shopping hot spots in Manhattan decided he wanted to drill a hole that allowed prurient viewing of your wife, fiancé, mother, sister, daughter or niece - in a space they would otherwise have reasonable expectations of privacy in - then he could do it, just for kicks, and there is no legal recourse you can take in response.
That sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? Well that's what McCullough and his "shoplifters lobby" want you to think.

Their solution is a law that would criminalize installing cameras in what are traditionally private areas - dressing roomsa and bathrooms - for the purposes of entertainment. The legislation is vague enough that it could people for using those cameras legally if they looked at a naked or underclothed woman.

Of course if you put cameras in a dressing room you are going to see a naked woman eventually. But why are those cameras there? Because the dressing room is a great spot to stash goods that you want to shoplift out of the store. Given privacy in dressing rooms, shoplifters, properly equipped, can quickly and easily remove any security devices and hide the items around their body.

I don't know why McCullough is pro-Shoplifter. I suspect he has a poor moral character. But when you fight for a law that will make shoplifting easier, it's not necessary to know why to know that it's a bad idea.

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