Rumors That Joe Biden Is Banning Your Gas Stove Are Greatly Exaggerated

Over the past 48 hours, many social media users and some conservative politicians and commentators have been loudly declaring that they'll never let President Joe Biden get his mitts on their gas stoves, and in some cases have stopped just short of saying they'll leave their gas stoves running just to spite him.

So how exactly did a gravely misrepresented report lead to a wild rumor that the Biden administration and the U.S. government want to ban gas stoves in America? Let's explain.

Here's how we got here: On Monday, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said in an interview that gas stoves, which are used in 40 percent of U.S. homes, are a "hidden hazard" on account of the air pollutants they release that can cause health problems.

According to Bloomberg, "Natural gas stoves … emit air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter at levels the EPA and World Health Organization have said are unsafe and linked to respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems, cancer, and other health conditions."

There has been some governmental push to address this issue. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Representative Don Beyer of Virginia have urged the USCPSC to look into gas stoves, suggesting it "consider requiring warning labels, range hoods and performance standards" for the common household appliance.

In Bloomberg's article, Trumka said, "Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned." Bloomberg then made its headline, "US Safety Agency to Consider Ban on Gas Stoves Amid Health Fears," and that led to some commenters declaring they were ready to die for their gas stoves.

For closer readers, the interpretation of Trumka's comment that "any option is on the table" regarding gas stoves to mean that "Joe Biden wants to nuke your gas stove from existence" (to paraphrase) seemed ridiculous.

Their feelings were then affirmed when the CPSC followed up with a statement given to Snopes that declared that Trumka's comment does not reflect the view of the whole agency, and furthermore:

CPSC has not proposed any regulatory action on gas stoves at this time. Any regulatory action by the Commission would involve a lengthy process. Agency staff plans to start gathering data and perspectives from the public on potential hazards associated with gas stoves, and proposed solutions to those hazards later this year. Commission staff also continues to work with voluntary standards organizations to examine gas stove emissions and address potential hazards.

Additionally, CPSC chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric released a public statement this morning assuring the masses that he was not considering a ban on gas stoves. In it, he directly stated, "To be clear, I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so."

So, no, the U.S. government is not coming to forcibly remove gas stoves from American homes, despite what the histrionics of some media outlets and internet users or even recent memes would have you believe.

But at the very least, if you weren't aware that gas stoves can cause health problems, now you do, and it may be worth looking into ways to properly vent your home when cooking if you want to avoid any medical problems.