A newly formed non-profit is bringing the spirit of "don't tread on me" to the kitchen, taking a stand against an ongoing campaign to ban gas-powered stoves.
Hands Off My Stove is sponsored by the U.S. Oil and Gas Association and was created as a response to government proposals at the local, state, and federal level to restrict what stoves Americans can use in their homes to prepare their meals.
"People are really upset about this because the kitchen is the center of everyone's home — it's where we raise our families and where we teach our kid and people see this as environmentalists kicking in their door and tattling on them to the government," Tim Stewart, president of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, told Fox News Digital. "They feel like it is a gross invasion of their privacy and their personal space, and they want someone to tell them how to fight back. This is about choice and freedom, and it is about privacy."
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The push to regulate and ultimately eliminate natural gas-powered stoves gained national attention in January, when a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a government agency, said a ban on gas stoves was "on the table" because of the health risks they pose to consumers. However, the CPSC backed down after public outrage and ridicule.
Soon thereafter, the Energy Department proposed an energy-efficiency regulation that officials acknowledge is so stringent that less than 50% of the gas stoves currently in use today would make the cut.
The Energy Department "proposes efficiency standards all the time — for lightbulbs, washers and dryers, refrigerators, and more," a department spokesperson recently told Fox News Digital. "Does it mean they're coming to ban those appliances? Of course not. Instead, the department is building on decades-long efforts with industry to ensure our appliances work more efficiently and save Americans money."
The department has also proposed a rule called the "Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Conventional Cooking Products."
According to Hands Off My Stove's website, however, gas stoves are both cost effective and environmentally friendly — and proposals to ban them infringe on individual rights.
"We are defending the rights of cooks and homeowners from the elitist policy makers and politicians who think they have the right to tell you how to make dinner," the group's mission statement says. "We are pushing back against the climate activists who believe global warming happens because you made pasta last night. We have had enough, and we are fighting back."
Beyond the federal level, Democrat-led states and cities are considering or actively implementing local gas stove restrictions as the GOP seeks to thwart such efforts at the federal level.
"Much of the public attention has been focused on the federal government banning new appliances, but most of the nefarious activity is happening at the local level where environmental groups are pushing state and local elected officials to ban new gas hookups," said Stewart. "Hands Off My Stove is a grassroots effort designed to give people the ability not just have a say but the ability to push back hard."
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In New York, lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul have been reportedly negotiating a measure banning gas stoves and other natural gas-powered appliances from being installed in new buildings and new residential construction.
"The other side hates to be mocked and hates to be questioned," said Stewart. "So, our messages will be funny and forceful without being mean spirited. We will point out hypocrisy of those who keep trying to tell us how they think we are supposed to live. Serial Stove User Stacy Abrams is the perfect example."
Abrams, a failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate and prominent voting rights activist, recently joined an environmental group pushing to ban gas stoves. However, she's featured a gas-powered stove in a campaign ad and other online videos in which she can be seen preparing food.
According to Stewart, Hands Off My Stove, whose stated mission is to "preserve our right to choose to cook our meals any way we want without government interference," its efforts must be driven by grassroots activists.
"We can help get everyone started and give them information and ideas, but they have to take it from there," said Stewart. "It really does need to be grassroots effort and we are asking people to kick in $1 a month… Over the next few weeks, we will get to work running some great local advocacy efforts and protecting people's right to choose and share that with everyone so they can do the same in their community if they are at risk."
Over the last several months, the Energy Department has introduced a series of energy efficiency regulations impacting various home appliances such gas stoves, ovens, clothes washers, refrigerators, and air conditioners. Now the Biden administration is preparing to implement a sweeping nationwide ban that would prohibit retailers from selling incandescent light bulbs.
