A Fact Check: What to Know About the Gas Stove Debate in Washington
In recent days, conservative politicians have begun retaliating to the fictional idea of a gas stove ban, due to a willful misinterpretation of the language included in a bill aimed to incentivize Americans to switch from gas stoves to electric stoves.
“I’ll NEVER give up my gas stove,” tweeted Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!”
Florida governor and conservative superstar Ron DeSantis also weighed in: “Don’t tread on Florida, and don’t mess with gas stoves!” This imagined war on gas stoves has a clear objective: to make Americans think the Federal government is infringing upon their personal freedoms by creating the illusion that Americans will be unduly forced to give up their gas stoves and switch to electric stoves.
But this is not the case, as a simple fact check can attest.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said that it would move to regulate gas stoves after a number of studies confirmed that some gas stoves can cause long-term health problems, including childhood asthma—in fact, gas stoves are responsible for 12.7 percent of U.S. childhood asthma cases, or roughly 650,000 asthmatic kids. “This is a hidden hazard,” said Richard Trumka Jr., a commissioner of CPSC. “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”
Almost immediately, publications like The Wall Street Journal published misinformation, including misleading summations like “Biden is coming for your gas stove.” White House spokesman Michael Kikukawa replied directly to these accusations: “The President does not support banning gas stoves,” he said. “And the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is independent, is not banning gas stoves.” In fact, CPSC is proposing that consumers who would like to switch will receive a $840 subsidy thanks to funds set aside by the Inflation Reduction Act, a law passed in mid-2022. All other laws would likely ban the sale of gas stoves for new apartments or houses by 2030, as planned by the California Air Resources board.
Conservative fervor blaming the president continues despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Fox News personality Tucker Carlson brought restaurant owner Stratis Morfogen onto his show to talk about how this policy would “destroy” the restaurant industry. T-shirts containing DeSantis’s “Don’t Tread On Florida” statement, accompanied by a picture of a gas stove, went on sale this week. A group of California conservatives are falsely claiming that houses will be forcibly “retrofit” with electric stoves. Even Senator Joe Manchin, a right-leaning Democrat, added to the firestorm by tweeting “The federal government has no business telling American families how to cook their dinner. I can tell you the last thing that would ever leave my house is the gas stove that we cook on.”
Culture wars are all the rage in American politics and often follow similar nonsensical patterns. Conservatives have claimed that Starbucks cups that read “Happy Holidays” are violations of their religious freedom, with some outright declaring the gesture a “war on Christmas.” Both the gas stoves and Starbucks controversies also see an unusually high level of reactivity from people who identify as conservative or Republican, whereas people who identify as liberal or Democrat are less likely to be offended by either the subject of gas stoves or holiday greetings. Nevertheless, these culture wars persist, and continue to be fueled by fear and misinformation from top conservative donors and politicians.
