Alec Baldwin shooting

[Suppressed Poet]

The 4 gun safety commandments I was taught and most widely accepted:

1) Treat every gun you come in contact with like it is loaded.
2) Never out your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire.
3) Never point the muzzle at anything you don’t want to destroy.
4) Know your target and what is beyond it. (Positive ID)

There are other good rules that are more situational, but these are the basics. My 8 year old girls can recite you these rules.

So yes as an actor I do see how #3 has to be circumvented sometimes in a controlled environment to make movies. There should be multiple checks by both the armorer & actor during such times to make certain the firearm does not contain live lethal ammunition. I’m hazy on all the details of the shooting, but as I understand it they weren’t live filming at the moment the firearm was discharged. It seems there is sufficient evidence for a trial of involuntary manslaughter as all four safety rules were violated. Having an armorer on set doesn’t negate the personal responsibility of Mr. Baldwin to act in a reasonably responsible way. We’ll see how this case plays out.