Sen. John Curtis
Bipartisan legislation proposed by U.S. Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) to create and enforce a consumer product safety standard for large gates on April 14 cleared the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and heads to the full U.S. Senate for action.
The Alex Gate Safety Act of 2025, S. 1682, which Sen. Curtis sponsored in May 2025 with lead original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), would establish uniform safety standards and launch a national education campaign to prevent harm and raise awareness among gate manufacturers, installers, consumers, and local authorities.
“Today’s vote on the Alex Gate Safety Act represents the government taking common-sense action to protect consumers from avoidable accidents caused by poorly designed or maintained gates,” Sen. Curtis said on Tuesday. “By codifying industry standards for simple and affordable safety mechanisms, this bill will help prevent tragedies.”
The measure is named for seven-year-old Alex Quanbeck, who died in 2019 when a schoolyard gate detached from its supporting hardware and collapsed on him.
“We have seen poorly designed, ill-maintained, or faulty gates injure or even kill people when they fall,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “Our bipartisan legislation is a common-sense 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.”