I initially approached this argument as a member of the "Gun Culture" ,siding with the idea that everyone who takes control of a firearm is responsible for checking to see if it is loaded. And,I found fault with Baldwin for not checking it.
IMO,that would be consensus among shooters.
Johnska made a good counter arguement. I may have adjusted my position.
Among moviemakers,actors,stage hands,etc we have a different set of stakeholders. A large percentage of them have zero firearms knowledge or competence.
The screen actors guild and whoever else came up with their code of how things will be done. It suits the needs of making movies.
Actors die of drug abuse and poor choicemaking pretty often. I do not think it wise to put the responsibility for firearm safety into those hands,yet they may be part of the gun handling cast.
One set of rules can work,even if it is a different set of rules.
What can get people killed is someone who follows a different set of rules.
It can work if one and only one expert armorer preps the guns,and is the sole chain of custody for that gun. The armorer hands the gun to the actor,takes the gun from the actor and watches the actor as "Range Safety Officer"
That can work. If that is the system, I,as Armorer,do not even want Sean Penn to open the loading gate on the SAA I hand him. If he does,its RED ALERT time. Nothing can be loaded into an unloaded gun without opening the loading gate.
That MAY be the best approach to handling guns on a movie set.
A problem being,It is not the way it was done on this movie set. The three guns on the cart were uncontrolled. At leat one of them was loaded.(Bad Armorer) The assistant director did not stay in his lane, He jumped over to the Armorers job. He broke the process. He announce "Cold Gun" when he,as a non-armorer,had no business doing that.(Bad Assistant Director)Who,BTW,has a history of being fired for gun safety problems.
Alec Baldwin as "Actor" should have been able to trust "Cold Gun" as much as Shirley McClaine should be able to trust "Cold Gun".
I.myself,do not (or might not) hold Alec Baldwin the Actor accountable.
However!! Alec Baldwin is also Producer. And as Producer,he is responsible for having a safe set, where Screen Actor Guild Gun rules are followed. Don't forget,there were TWO gunfire incidents within days of the fatality. Wake Up!
Alec Baldwin is responsible for having an incompetent Armorer on staff.
And Alec Baldwin is responsible for tolerating an Assistant Director who broke chain of custody,and negligently passed a loaded firearm calling it a "Cold Gun"
Good help is hard to find.
Alec Baldwin,Producer, is responsible for having a safe set, proactively.
Every day from day ONE.
It does not work to be lax, to be negligent,to cut corners till someone is dead.
Then say "We are cooperating with law enforcement" We are studying the situation. We will make corrective action. We have our best lawyers and PR firm doing damage control.....
Too late . Halyna is Dead. Who is the One Person in the World who had the position and power to make sure no one making that film was killed,by demanding the set was run to Screen Actor Guild code? Note Union Staff filed Gun Safety Grievances. Some were walking off. The "I didn't know" does not work.
IMO,that would be consensus among shooters.
Johnska made a good counter arguement. I may have adjusted my position.
Among moviemakers,actors,stage hands,etc we have a different set of stakeholders. A large percentage of them have zero firearms knowledge or competence.
The screen actors guild and whoever else came up with their code of how things will be done. It suits the needs of making movies.
Actors die of drug abuse and poor choicemaking pretty often. I do not think it wise to put the responsibility for firearm safety into those hands,yet they may be part of the gun handling cast.
One set of rules can work,even if it is a different set of rules.
What can get people killed is someone who follows a different set of rules.
It can work if one and only one expert armorer preps the guns,and is the sole chain of custody for that gun. The armorer hands the gun to the actor,takes the gun from the actor and watches the actor as "Range Safety Officer"
That can work. If that is the system, I,as Armorer,do not even want Sean Penn to open the loading gate on the SAA I hand him. If he does,its RED ALERT time. Nothing can be loaded into an unloaded gun without opening the loading gate.
That MAY be the best approach to handling guns on a movie set.
A problem being,It is not the way it was done on this movie set. The three guns on the cart were uncontrolled. At leat one of them was loaded.(Bad Armorer) The assistant director did not stay in his lane, He jumped over to the Armorers job. He broke the process. He announce "Cold Gun" when he,as a non-armorer,had no business doing that.(Bad Assistant Director)Who,BTW,has a history of being fired for gun safety problems.
Alec Baldwin as "Actor" should have been able to trust "Cold Gun" as much as Shirley McClaine should be able to trust "Cold Gun".
I.myself,do not (or might not) hold Alec Baldwin the Actor accountable.
However!! Alec Baldwin is also Producer. And as Producer,he is responsible for having a safe set, where Screen Actor Guild Gun rules are followed. Don't forget,there were TWO gunfire incidents within days of the fatality. Wake Up!
Alec Baldwin is responsible for having an incompetent Armorer on staff.
And Alec Baldwin is responsible for tolerating an Assistant Director who broke chain of custody,and negligently passed a loaded firearm calling it a "Cold Gun"
Good help is hard to find.
Alec Baldwin,Producer, is responsible for having a safe set, proactively.
Every day from day ONE.
It does not work to be lax, to be negligent,to cut corners till someone is dead.
Then say "We are cooperating with law enforcement" We are studying the situation. We will make corrective action. We have our best lawyers and PR firm doing damage control.....
Too late . Halyna is Dead. Who is the One Person in the World who had the position and power to make sure no one making that film was killed,by demanding the set was run to Screen Actor Guild code? Note Union Staff filed Gun Safety Grievances. Some were walking off. The "I didn't know" does not work.
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