New Mexico prosecutors on Tuesday said they intended to recharge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
Morrissey said if new testing of the gun showed it was working, she would recharge Baldwin.
Like I said, they should be having safety trainings already. This will make the actor familiar with the firearm, it’s functions, and the onset procudures to use it and to do so safely. It should include a briefing on the different types of ammo on set but I don’t feel that making an actor aware how to tell every single one apart can be expected. The breadth of knowledge would be too great to reliably expect someone with minimal training to reliably identify a round and to continue to do so throughout an extended production.
Personally, I feel a chain of custody from an expert or experts which can do so makes more sense. If anyone in that chain of custody questions the procedure in which they are handed a firearm it would start over. Additionally, that chain of custody should be witnessed at all times by the expert. It should also include a verbal description of what is being handed over and what it’s load is and that the person receiving it should repeat it back during a verification.
In this case, the armorer didn’t hand him the gun. Which I don’t know what that productions proper procedures. But since it wasn’t the armorer, the actor wouldn’t have had that immediate face to face availability to ask the armorer. I can only assume the armorer was on set and available for questions though.
However, is this policy safe, is this how it should be done, and does having done it this way rise to the level of criminal charges are all independent questions.
I’m sure this shooting will change and has changed how firearms are handled on set. That said, these types of industry activity procedures aren’t regulated through law, and will still largely rely on production companies, studios, and armorers policies and procedures.
My argument isn’t that the safe handling of firearms is already sufficient and doesn’t need to be changed. Very clearly this incident shows a gap in training and procedures.
I’m only saying that my opinion is that this negligent discharge doesn’t meet the requirements to consider criminal charges and that Alec Baldwin isn’t getting special treatment due to his fame or status as a film star.
Exactly. Anyone who handles firearms in any capacity should be able to do so safely. The four rules of safe gun handling are ubiquitous throughout the firearm industry; it is patently absurd to even suspect that Baldwin was ignorant of the risks or rules. As the person actually handling the gun, it was his responsibility to ensure it was handled safely. If he wants to point it at a person and pull the trigger, he better be damn sure it’s not going to discharge, regardless of what the armorer had to say about it.
What’s the problem with “this movie will have firearms, we will teach you how to safely check each gun type and what to look for”
And then an actor, if they forget how when the armorer is handling them, be obligated to ask “how do I check this gun safely?”
People took shortcuts and didn’t ask questions. Iff that’s just the way it’s done on movie sets, the behavior needs to change.
Like I said, they should be having safety trainings already. This will make the actor familiar with the firearm, it’s functions, and the onset procudures to use it and to do so safely. It should include a briefing on the different types of ammo on set but I don’t feel that making an actor aware how to tell every single one apart can be expected. The breadth of knowledge would be too great to reliably expect someone with minimal training to reliably identify a round and to continue to do so throughout an extended production.
Personally, I feel a chain of custody from an expert or experts which can do so makes more sense. If anyone in that chain of custody questions the procedure in which they are handed a firearm it would start over. Additionally, that chain of custody should be witnessed at all times by the expert. It should also include a verbal description of what is being handed over and what it’s load is and that the person receiving it should repeat it back during a verification.
In this case, the armorer didn’t hand him the gun. Which I don’t know what that productions proper procedures. But since it wasn’t the armorer, the actor wouldn’t have had that immediate face to face availability to ask the armorer. I can only assume the armorer was on set and available for questions though.
However, is this policy safe, is this how it should be done, and does having done it this way rise to the level of criminal charges are all independent questions.
I’m sure this shooting will change and has changed how firearms are handled on set. That said, these types of industry activity procedures aren’t regulated through law, and will still largely rely on production companies, studios, and armorers policies and procedures.
My argument isn’t that the safe handling of firearms is already sufficient and doesn’t need to be changed. Very clearly this incident shows a gap in training and procedures.
I’m only saying that my opinion is that this negligent discharge doesn’t meet the requirements to consider criminal charges and that Alec Baldwin isn’t getting special treatment due to his fame or status as a film star.
Exactly. Anyone who handles firearms in any capacity should be able to do so safely. The four rules of safe gun handling are ubiquitous throughout the firearm industry; it is patently absurd to even suspect that Baldwin was ignorant of the risks or rules. As the person actually handling the gun, it was his responsibility to ensure it was handled safely. If he wants to point it at a person and pull the trigger, he better be damn sure it’s not going to discharge, regardless of what the armorer had to say about it.
Moreover, why would you want to hold a gun unless you knew you were able to verify you weren’t putting anyone or anything at risk?