Washington — Bipartisan legislation aimed at improving the safety of gates used in commercial, residential and recreational areas has advanced in the Senate.
Approved by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee during an April 14 markup, the Alex Gate Safety Act of 2025 (S. 1682) would direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a standard ensuring that vehicular and large gates meet certain ASTM International safety requirements. Those include gates with “an operator or similar system.”
Further, the bill would permit CPSC to modify standards if the agency believes doing so would enhance safety and reduce injury risk. It also would call on the commission to launch a national public education campaign on the dangers related to certain gates and methods to prevent them from causing death or injury.
Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the bill on May 8, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) cosponsoring the legislation.
“We have seen poorly designed, ill-maintained, or faulty gates injure or even kill people when they fall,” Klobuchar said in a press release. “Our bipartisan legislation is a commonsense step forward to preventing these tragedies by requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adopt safety standards, including simple, low-cost latches, that will prevent these gates from falling.”
The act is named for 7-year-old Alex Quanbeck, who was fatally injured in 2019 when a schoolyard gate detached from its hardware and collapsed.
At press time, the full Senate had yet to vote on the bill.
