Earlier this year, my Legal Insurrection colleague Mary Chastain railed against the federal government moving forward with plans to ban gas stoves.
She wasn’t the only one upset about these Biden administration plans, which are clearly based on pseudoscience. Shortly after the controversy, the propagandists in the media focused on the Republican reaction to the issue.
Republicans tend to be the loudest defenders of natural gas, but gas-powered stoves tend to be most common largely in Democratic-controlled states, my colleagues Elena Shao and Lisa Friedman report. In fact, the state with the highest percentage of households using natural gas for cooking (70 percent) is California, according to a 2020 analysis from the Energy Information Administration.
The New York Times assured everyone that gas stoves were not a target: No One Is Coming for Your Gas Stove Anytime Soon.
Yet it appears that the work around control of another aspect of American life will be accomplished on a state-by-state basis. California has already banned the sale of gas stoves and water heaters by 2030. However, because all appliances eventually need to be replaced, units in existing homes will eventually have to be switched out for the Democrat-preferred electrical units.
Given California’s notorious problems with its electrical grid, it would be wise for Californians to make meal plans that don’t require cooking.
It looks like New York is now heading in the same direction.
New York state lawmakers are poised to enact the nation’s first legislative ban on gas and fossil fuel appliances in most new buildings, including single-family homes.Despite outcry from Republicans nationwide about states and the federal government looking to ban gas stoves, New York appears set to move forward with the proposal in the state budget due March 31.The reason a deal looks imminent is because Gov. Kathy Hochul and fellow Democrats in both chambers of the state Legislature have endorsed proposals to prohibit fossil fuel furnaces, water heaters, clothes dryers and gas stoves in most new construction.New York would be the first to take this step through legislative action; California and Washington have done so through building codes. An agreement has not been finalized to ensure passage, but the new restrictions are included in all three plans being discussed in Albany.
On the other hand, Tennessee is essentially declaring itself a “gas stove sanctuary state.”
Republican Gov. Bill Lee has signed legislation that says local governments can’t ban gas stoves, even though no current city in Tennessee is currently pursuing such actions.The legislation was introduced amid fears from earlier this year that the Biden administration was considering a nationwide ban on gas stoves due to growing health concerns over the appliances. While the White House has said President Joe Biden would not support a ban, a Consumer Product Safety Commission official sparked suspicion when he said “any option is on the table” when it came to regulating gas stoves.Under the legislation Lee approved last week, local governments cannot regulate the “type of source of energy” delivered to customers for utility service connection or appliances. The legislation went into effect immediately after receiving strong support inside the GOP-dominated Tennessee Statehouse.
An intriguing data point to consider: Tennessee’s population grew by 9% in the last census and is now the 16th most populated state in the nation. New York now leads the nation in population loss, followed by California.
Fun Fact: Tennessee is on the short-list for my new home, which will be accomplished before I can no longer buy either the car I want nor the appliances I prefer because of policies based on narrative science, climate change cultists, and politicians profiting from their connections to green energy firms.
Republicans in the House of Representatives are also trying to prevent bureaucratic bans on gas stoves via legislation.
Two Republicans on the House Energy & Commerce Committee are making a push stop the Biden administration from banning gas stoves with legislation that has support from the committee chairman and could get a vote on the House floor this year.The bills from Reps. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., and Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., are a response to the two-pronged effort seen by the Biden administration to ban gas stoves this year.In January, a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said a ban on gas stoves was “on the table” because of the health risks they pose to consumers. The CPSC backed down after public outrage and ridicule, but soon after, the Department of Energy proposed an energy-efficiency regulation that officials acknowledge is so stringent that less than 50% of the gas stoves currently in use today wouldn’t make the cut.
These bills are not likely to become law . . . yet.
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