The Baldwin Charges, and are they justified?

The Baldwin Charges, And Are They Justified?

So, there are a lot of opinions about this, and I am going to break down where it went wrong, how it could have been prevented, and discuss whether or not Baldwin deserves the charges.

Firstly, most of us have heard about the Baldwin shooting, but I’m going to summarize it just in case. While filming the movie “Rust”, Baldwin was in the middle of shooting a scene (pun not intended…mostly) and when he pulled the trigger on what everyone thought was a safe gun, and it fired. Allegedly he was pointing the firearm at the camara, and when the gun went off it killed the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The projectile also wounded Joel Souza, the film’s director. He was hit in the shoulder, and was released from the hospital the following day.

Obviously, many things had to go wrong for something like this to happen on the set of a movie. Nobody there believed they were doing something dangerous, or that there was a a chance for something like this to happen…right?

Per the NY Times, the district attorney for the local county, Mary Carmack-Altwies, stated this.

“We know from our investigation that there have been accidental misfires prior to this, that there were people that were complaining about safety on set and so he should have been aware that safety was an issue on set.”

Yeah. They knew. They knew there were issues, and apparently firearms had unexpectedly fired live rounds during the shooting (pun definitely not intended this time) of this same film. Yet, the armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, somehow managed to retain her job and continue to work on set. The NY Post, in an article about Gutierrez, said this.

“A “Rust” production source described Reed as “inexperienced and green,” to the outlet, adding that there had been two other incidents of accidental discharges by crew members.”

Yeah. Its that bad.

Now lets dive into Hannah Gutierrez Reed, while on the subject of misfires. To be clear, this is not a personal attack on her character, as I have no personal experience with her. Of all the heat coming down on her for partially being responsible for this tragedy, we need to keep in mind that this accident was a result of negligence, not malice. This implies to everyone else involved as well. That being said, she took a job she was clearly unqualified for, allowed a total of three misfires while on set, and is responsible for handing a loaded gun off which eventually killed a woman trying to do her job.

Gutierrez also reportedly handed off a gun to an 11 year old on the set of “The Old Way”, another upcoming film, without checking the gun for safety. She had apparently loaded the gun on the ground, where there was a risk of dirt, pebbles, and other debris entering the barrel. Other crew members got involved and had to check for Gutierrez, who should have known better than to load a gun while on the ground, in the dirt, in the first place.

Notably, Gutierrez is the daughter of another hollywood armorer, Thell Reed. Given Hannah’s lack of accreditation, nonchalant attitude towards firearms, and her history of mishaps and negligence, it is not a stretch to assume the only reason she was in this position in the first place was because of the connections Thell Reed has made during his Hollywood career. We can only hope Hannah didn't learn her bad habits from her father, or there will be another Hollywood tragedy on the horizon with the Reed name attached to it.

Gutierrez, who is being charged with 2 counts of involuntary manslaughter, however is not the only person who was responsible for insuring the firearm was safe to use. While she was responsible for live ammo being present on set, loading the gun, and confirming it was safe to use, the assistant director Dave Halls also hold some of the blame.

The NY Post reports “Halls was named in the affidavit for calling out “cold gun,” indicating its safety before giving the weapon to Baldwin. Another source confirmed that it should be the assistant director’s job to test each gun for being “hot” — loaded with live rounds, or “cold” — loaded with blank rounds. “This check alone should’ve prevented this incident,” the person told The Daily Beast.”

So. Halls called out that the gun was cold, aka safe to use, before handing it to Baldwin. While Gutierrez is responsible for obtaining the ammunition from a supplier (who she is trying to sue, by the way), Halls also had a chance to check the gun for safety, and he also failed to do so. Other sources also report that Halls was not overly concerned with being safe in regards to the use of firearms on set. Now, lets talk about Baldwin.

Alec Baldwin, was the man behind the trigger. To be clear, while Hannah Gutierrez and David Halls do hold responsibility here, Baldwin was the killer. To be fair, he was told the gun was safe, and did what he was told. That being said, he was handed a real gun. This is where the easy, stupidly simple rules of firearm safety really come into play. Baldwin for his part, has a reputation for being anti-gun. We can talk about that irony all day. But the fact of the matter is, responsible gun owners are taught from the beginning about 4 simple rules of handing firearms.

The moment I was introduced to firearms as a teenager, they were drilled into my head. Every firearms class I have taken, stressed the importance of these rules, and 99% of gun owners in the US likely already know which rules I am talking about. Lets break those down. Because even though the weapon was supposedly safe, even though multiple people were told and earnestly believed the weapon was safe, it was a real firearm and thus should haave been treated like one. Maybe if Baldwin would have taken the time to educate himself, instead of demeaning those who do responsibility handle firearms, this could have been avoided. I'm including a video made by Colion Noir, who explains this aspect much better than I. Even if you are not pro gun, some of the points here are irrefutable.

1. Treat all firearms like they are loaded. Reasonable, simple, easy right? Apparently not. Because if you treat a gun like it is loaded, you dont point it at people. I spend a decent time around firearms, whether its at the range, in a store, whatever. And I dont care how many people tell me a weapon is clear, myself as well as any other responsible gun owner, knows to check the weapon for themselves. At least three people on the “Rust” set had the opportunity to do this, and they all failed. But loaded or not, does not change the fact that the gun never should have been pointed at a real person.
2. Finger off the trigger. Again, should go without saying. This rule primarily focuses on not being careless in handling a firearm, and to be conscious and purposeful in how you hold one. If you watch any responsible gun.. heck, you dont even have to be a gun owner to do this. You see any responsible person handling a gun, you will see them extending their index finger, their trigger finger, out and away from the trigger guard. Below is a picture of Hannah Gutierrez, clearly not following this rule, from her Instagram account.
3. Don’t pull the trigger until you have made a conscious decision to shoot. A little repetitive, maybe. But before pulling the trigger on any gun, clear or not, you need to be exactly sure of what you are doing. If Baldwin had accepted this responsibility and checked the gun for himself (and knew what to look for) before pulling the trigger, this whole thing could have potentially been avoided.
4. Be aware of your target and what is beyond it. Bullets travel, go through things, common sense right? Not on the “Rust” Set. Baldwin was pointing the gun at the camera. But there was a person behind it. I dont care how safe you think a gun is, you should NEVER point a real, functioning firearm at another person unless you are in serious, dire circumstances. We have cars that can nearly drive themselves, we have drones that can be controlled with a remote. There is no excuse for pointing a real weapon in the direction of another human being.

So, this has been fairly long winded so it is time to summarize. It was a tragedy, made even worse by the fact that this could have been prevented. Hannah Reed Gutierrez could have prevented this by being cautious in how the weapon and ammunition was handled. Live ammunition should have never been anywhere near a movie set. Multiple people had the chance to check over the gun and ammo for safety, and they all failed. Gutierrez, Halls, and Baldwin could have prevented this, but a lack of common sense and caution lead to the death of a woman who only wanted to do her job and go home.

They are all trying to blame each other and make excuses of course. Gutierrez is suing the ammunition supplier, Baldwin is suing the assistant director and claiming he never pulled the trigger (because they go off by themselves?) it is a mess. None of them want to accept responsibility for what happened, but there needs to be accountability here.

In my opinion, they all deserve to face charges, including Halls who has barely been mentioned. I think the director, and Baldwin as the producer, should be held accountable for the fact that after two other misfires, they let Gutierrez keep her job and continue to handle the firearms and ammunition. They are all responsible, whether they wanted to admit it or not. There needs to be accountability here. If any of them had followed the simple, basic rules of firearm safety, or showed even a shred of common sense, Halyna Hutchins would have made it home. Hollywood, this is the third time this has happened. Do better.