The Suffolk County Legislature gave a Riverhead burn victim a special kind of birthday present on Tuesday when it passed "Michael's Law," which bans the sale of gel candles in Suffolk County.
The proposal was inspired by Michael Hubbard, a Riverhead boy who was . Tuesday was his 15th birthday.
Hubbard was refueling a gel candle on May 28 when the decoration exploded, burning 40 percent of his body including his face, chest and arms. Hubbard remains in a coma from the accident.
The law bans the sale of semi-solid, ethanol-based gel, often used as fuel in gel candles. The ban passed by a 18-0 vote, with no debate or opposition to the bill.
Bill Faulk, an aide to County Legis. Ed Romaine, R-Center Moriches, said it was important to get the dangerous product off the shelves quickly.
"We wanted to protect other families in Suffolk County so they wouldn't have to face the tragedy that Michael's family has dealt with," Faulk said.
Romaine and others acted within days of the incident to create the law, Faulk said, and have spent the past few months tweaking the bill.
Hubbard's family were in attendance at the time and spoke to the Legislature. Fran Reyer-Johnson, Michael's aunt, thanked Romaine and all of the legislators for passing the bill on a website devoted to Michael's recovery.
"Maybe the entire state will ban these candles, and then maybe the nation," she said. "Happy Birthday Michael - We love you."
Regards, Tom
4:16pm on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 Mr. Wilson's assertion that I work for Ed Romaine is typical of the infantile sniping displayed in most of his posts. To Andrea, you are using this story to make a point about a larger issue of "big government." I have the feeling you would attempt to make any article on safety legislation fit your ideology. To infer that this legislation "takes away liberties" is the absolute height of absurdity unless the liberty you are trying to protect is the company's right to market a novelty product that could kill a child." This has been a paid political announcement for the FRIENDS OF ED ROMAINE.
I mean ok - so there are other harmful things out there in the world that the county hasn't banned.....does that mean products like this one should not have been banned? Does that make THIS type of product any less of a priority? Earlier you referenced smoking and fast food - the risks that come with those products are well documented and well known. And until a cheeseburger blows up in someone's backyard, or Marlboro recalls their cigarettes, I'm of the opinion that it's apples to oranges to compare them with this gel product. Burgers and cigarettes do exactly what they are supposed to do....harm your body. Let's say someone close to you was injured by this Citronella brand gel candle, and Citronella ended up recalling it. Would you feel comfortable buying a similar product from the shelf made by another manufacturer? I know what my answer is
I believe I read somewhere, the manufacturer here had around 27 complaints about this product. IF "Government" is the answer to solve this problem, and there are local, State and Federal agencies charged with jurisdiction over these products, where were they ?
And your point doesn't make a ton of sense. If a product is recalled, its defective. So a Toyota gets recalled - is a Honda a similar enough product? Did you give up your cars because some have been recalled? And those gel candles you're taking about are different than this ethanol-based gel too. Apples, Oranges, Pears... and so on. If a product gets recalled, no problem. But I would like the data that went into the decision to ban a substance across the board - not just the defective products themselves. I'm sorry you don't wish to know more about why legislation is passed and the information that goes into it.
We have seemed to have lost that concept, these days, and have just thrown our collective hands up in the air, wandering around not knowing what to do with the everyday situations in our lives. Politicians like Ed Romaine can't be around to put a band-aid on our boo-boo's....and you really don't want them to. And it's just SURRENDERING of Individual Freedom to Government, expecting them to do so. HOW ? This is how Tyranny starts....with little steps, and little surrenders.
So in my eyes, the DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS should be banned - not a substance that has been used in other ways w/o problems!
This instance proves the recent data that shows New York State is one of the most regulated States in the Union... http://mercatus.org/freedom-50-states-2011
Is this law constitutional and legal ? Can Ed Romaine draw up a law like this and legally ban products, in general ? Or is it just a nice gesture...a nice thing to do ? OOops, asking too many questions I guess....we should just all accept what Ed Romaine and the County Legislature knows about this subject, shouldn't we ? I mean they wouldn't do anything illegal or unconstitutional would they ?
4:20pm on Thursday, August 18, 2011 UM did you even READ the article. They did step in by BANNING it in Suffolk county." GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR TOM, UM......For sure !