Lubbock Woman Takes Reese’s Law to Capitol Hill

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A milestone in Washington DC today for a Lubbock woman who has worked hard to turn her tragedy into a lifesaver for other families.

You remember Trista Hamsmith, whose daughter Reese died last December after swallowing a button battery.

She has been on a mission since then to convince battery companies to make those tiny batteries safer.

Today, Lubbock Congressman Jodey Arrington and Representative Robin Kelley introduced Reese’s Law on Capitol Hill.

Arrington told a crowd gathered there this morning, “We’ve got to act and act now. I suspect we can get bipartisan support to get this thing through and hopefully protect the lives of the many Reese’s out there.”

In a zoom call today, Trista explained to me what Reese’s Law involves. “So for Reese’s Law, what we want is for any item containing a button battery to have a secure closure. It would also require any button batteries to be in childproof packaging, all of them. The third thing is stronger warnings on items containing the button batteries about what could happen.”

Trista also said she couldn’t be happier about the reception in Washington. The hope is that the Consumer Product Safety Commission will develop stricter standards in manufacturing button batteries.

Of course, this is just the first step.

Now that the bill has been introduced, she says she looks forward to the day when President Biden signs it into law.

In the meantime, Trista wants to remind parents of the danger. Last year alone, nearly 8,000 children were treated in emergency rooms after swallowing a battery that could get lodged and damage the lining of the esophagus within a half hour.

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