No, The Government Is Not Seizing Your Gas Stove

Nikki McCann Ramirez
·3 min read
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ronny jackson - Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images
ronny jackson - Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

A panic is burning through social media and the halls of Congress following reports this week that the Consumer Product Safety Commission is preparing to issue a ban on gas stoves. The agency clarified on Wednesday that there is, in fact, no plan to ban gas stoves and that it is only “researching gas emissions in stoves and exploring new ways to address any health risks” — but that isn’t keeping conservatives from pushing the narrative that government agents are going to come into your home and rip apart your kitchen.

The political grease fire over the future of gas fueled stoves was sparked by comments made by CPSC Agency Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. in an interview with Bloomberg. “This is a hidden hazard,” Trumka said. “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.” Trumka was referring to studies indicating that gas stoves could be a factor contributing to poor indoor air quality and lung disease, including links to childhood asthma.

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Republican lawmakers seized on the comments to accuse the Biden administration of encroaching on personal liberties in the name of its “woke” environmental agenda. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) tweeted that he would “NEVER” give up his gas stove. “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands,” Jackson wrote. “COME AND TAKE IT!!” Jackson also launched a petition website-slash-email-harvesting-apparatus titled SAVE OUR STOVES.

Jackson continued to herald the end of gas stove and promote his website after the CPSC announced it isn’t banning anything on Wednesday, feuding with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) after she quipped that “ongoing exposure to NO2 from gas stoves is linked to reduced cognitive performance.”

Jackson wasn’t alone. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) told Fox News that the theoretical ban stemmed from a desire to “control American’s lives and decisions.” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) weighed in, as well, tweeting that the “federal government has no business telling American families how to cook their dinner,” and that “the last thing that would ever leave my house is the gas stove that we cook on.” Rep.Mark Alford (R-Mo.) even tweeted his own version of the Battle of Gonzales “Come And Take It” flag stylized to include a gas burner.

Fox News, which has a storied history of fanning the flames of hysteria over any sort of environmentally conscious lifestyle change (see Laura Ingraham attempting to suck a lightbulb covered steak through a plastic straw) reacted in characteristic fashion. Host Tucker Carlson dismissed the notion that gas stoves could constitute a safety hazard. “It’s totally fine to give fentanyl to addicts but a gas stove is a threat to your life,” Carlson mocked.

Gas stoves are unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. CPSC of Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric clarified in a statement Wednesday that he is “not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so.” Hoehn-Saric indicated that the regulatory body is “also actively engaged in strengthening voluntary safety standards for gas stoves.”

Any decision by the CPSC is likely to involve the slow burn of incremental change. No SWAT team is going to burst down your door to disconnect your gas main. Should the CPSC take action to curtail the use of gas stoves, it would likely come in the form of a gradual scale-down intended to eventually end the production of gas stoves. No need to get hot under the collar just yet.

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