California Votes Down Film Industry Gun Safety Regulations Inspired by Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Shooting

Santa Fe County Sheriff
Santa Fe County Sheriff

A bill to institute gun safety measures in the aftermath of the October 21, 2021, Rust shooting has failed to pass the Democrat-dominated California legislature.

The bill, SB831, was sponsored by State Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose).

The text of SB831 says:

This bill would require a motion picture production employer to hire a qualified set safety supervisor for all motion picture productions to perform a risk assessment, as specified, to be completed prior to the first day of production on a feature, an episode of a series, or a program, and to be on set daily to ensure cast and crew are not engaged in or exposed to an environment or activity that puts workers’ health and safety at risk.

The text makes clear that SB831 “would allow the use of a firearm and blank ammunition containing gunpowder or other explosive charge on motion picture productions only for specified purposes and under specified safety conditions.”

It adds:

The bill would require a qualified armorer, property master, or designee handling a firearm in the course of the motion picture production to have a specified state permit, to have completed certain training in firearms, and to have a specified federal document for the possession and custody of the firearm. The bill would require an employer to document and report to certain entities any incident involving a firearm or blank ammunition that occurs during a film or television production, as prescribed.

The Los Angeles Times notes that two of Hollywood’s biggest unions–the Directors Guild of America and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees–are being blamed for the failure to secure the gun safety reform.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded in the October shooting incident on the Rust set.

On December 3 Breitbart News reported that Alec Baldwin admitted he cocked the gun involved in the fatal Rust shooting, but claimed he did not pull the trigger.

USA Today recounted Baldwin’s exchange with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, in which Baldwin said, “I’m holding the gun where she [Hutchins] told me to hold it.”

He added, “In the scene [being rehearsed] I would have cocked the gun, and I said, ‘Do you want to see that? And she said yes. So I take the gun and I sort of cock the gun, I’m not going to pull the trigger.”

Baldwin said that Hutchins then had him adjust the angle at which he was holding the revolver.

He then told Stephanopoulos, “I cock the gun and I go, ‘Can you see that? Can you see that? Can you see that?’ And I let go of the hammer of the gun and the gun goes off.”

Baldwin also told Stephanopoulos, “The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkinsa weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

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