Newly Revealed Emails Show Utilities Are Desperate to Avoid Gas Bans Share Filed to:american gas association The gas industry is scared. (Photo: David McNew, Getty Images) The fight to ban natural gas in new buildings is heating up — and so is the opposition. Newly revealed documents show that the gas industry is behind state lawmakers’ coordinated resistance. Over the past three years, major American cities including Berkeley, San Francisco, and San Jose in California; Seattle; and New York City have passed similar laws banning gas in new construction, and more cities are weighing similar measures in consideration. Statewide campaigns for such restrictions are also brewing.