Nonprofit Seeks to Defend Americans’ Right to Cook ‘Without Government Interference’

Cooking with a natural gas-burning stove in Chicago, Illinois, on Jan. 12, 2023. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Nonprofit group “Hands Off My Stove” is pushing against government attempts to ban the use of gas stoves, aiming to create a “level playing field” for kitchen equipment.

“Our Mission at Hands Off My Stove is to preserve our right to choose to cook our meals any way we want without government interference. We are defending the rights of cooks and homeowners from the elitist policymakers and politicians who think they have the right to tell you how to make dinner,” the group says in its mission statement.

“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.”

The nonprofit plans to oppose any regulations and policies seeking to restrict or prohibit the use of traditional gas appliances at homes and in commercial kitchens.

It will work with state and local governments to ensure the availability of gas infrastructure for Americans—a “level playing field” for all kitchen appliances.

Hands Off My Stove is sponsored by the U.S. Oil and Gas Association and is launched at a time when the federal government is increasingly moving against Americans using gas stoves at home.

In January, a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that a ban on gas stoves was under consideration. However, the agency dismissed the statement following public ridicule and outrage.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed a maximum annual gas consumption limit for all gas cooking tops. The agency’s analysis of the rule’s effects states that if implemented, only half of gas cooking appliances would meet the new standard.

Gas Stove Benefits, Pushback Against Imposition

Hands Off My Stove points out that gas stoves and ovens offer unique benefits in terms of cooking performance, efficiency, heating, and affordability.

For example, natural gas is primarily methane and is a “relatively clean-burning fuel,” producing fewer pollutants like nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide. As natural gas furnaces operate at high levels of combustion efficiency, it results in lower emissions.

“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.

“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.”

Limiting Gas Use

Multiple states like New York and California are taking action to restrict natural gas use by citizens. New York is proposing legislation that would ban the installation of “fossil fuel equipment” and building systems in new one-family and smaller multi-family homes, beginning on Dec. 31, 2025.

In an interview with Fox News, Rob Ortt, the Republican minority leader in the New York State Senate, said the proposal could endanger energy reliability in New York and raise people’s utility rates.

“We’re not going to stop the polar ice caps from melting because my mom has to use an electric stove,” he said.

In California, lawmakers approved a bill that could charge a penalty for any alleged price gouging at gasoline pumps. This would empower regulators to fine oil firms that seek to profit from gas price spikes.

California already charges high taxes on gasoline. According to data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), California’s total state taxes on gasoline come in at 68.15 cents per gallon. In contrast, the national average state tax is 38.69 cents per gallon.