A gun bill formed in response to the deadly Alec Baldwin shooting on the set of Rust failed to pass in California after discussions stalled between the Motion Picture Association and Hollywood labor unions.
Assembled earlier this year, Senate Bill 831 sought to “raise safety standards on sets and regulate ammunition, blanks, and firearms that are capable of firing ammunition.” Likewise, Senate Bill 829 dictated that weapons on film seats would always be “under the supervision of an armorer” while also prohibiting “the use of ammunition in the production of a motion picture.”
“The bill would require an employer to ensure that a fire code official is present on any motion picture production during the time any firearm and blanks are used in the motion picture production,” the legislation said.
Bill 829 would have also required crewmembers to take an online firearms safety course to “request and keep in their records a copy of the certificate of completion.”
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) both expressed disappointment over the bills’ failure in a joint statement on Monday, placing the blame on a lack of support from studios.
“The DGA and IATSE are disappointed and disheartened that this critical legislation, which would have required important safety protections for our members and all workers in our industry, was not passed into law during this legislative session,” the statement said.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to get the studios to support significant, meaningful and practical safety reforms that they currently implement in other parts of the world,” it added. “We remain committed to reforms that protect our members through negotiations with the studios or legislation in California and other states. Those changes require prioritizing safety and allocating resources to make it happen on the ground.”
Melissa Patack, the VP of state government affairs for the Motion Picture Association told Variety that the Motion Picture Association remains “committed to enhanced firearm safety and training programs.”
“We look forward to continuing our work with our union partners to enhance safety,” said Patack. “Following the adjournment of the California Legislature, we will explore every avenue to advance legislation and will also work with the Industry Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee to bolster the appropriate safety bulletins.”
Though a forensics report from the FBI claims otherwise, Alec Baldwin maintains that he did not pull the trigger when the gun fired the fatal shot that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
Paul Bois joined Breitbart News in the summer of 2021 after previously working as a writer for TruthRevolt and The Daily Wire. He has written thousands of news articles on a variety of topics, from current events to pop-cultural trends. Follow him on Twitter @Paulbois39
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