![The question most of the media isn't asking: Was the gun fired under direction, on impulse, or unintentionally? [See update below]](https://www.ammoland.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Alec-Baldwin-iStock-877920526-600x401.jpg)
The term “prop gun” is being used throughout without really defining what that means. Some seem to feel that means it wasn’t a “real” gun. What would help clarify that is if specific information about the firearm involved was released, and that’s something that is known by authorities. As the film was reportedly a Western, can we assume it was either a single-action or double-action revolver? Was it only designated as a “prop” because it was being used on a movie set? Reports that the gun was unsecured and used by some of the crew for target practice suggest the word “prop
is misleading.
Another speculative assertion is that Baldwin fired the gun at the camera to obtain a point of view angle. This to me is key: Is that what happened? Because if that was not scripted and instructed by the director, it raises the question of why he would aim a gun assumed loaded with blanks at anyone on the set and squeeze the trigger. Or was it, as some reports have called it, a “misfire” or an “accidental” (unintentional) firing, that is, a negligent discharge?
UPDATE: Since this article was submitted new information has been released. The gun has been identified as a revolver along with this account:
As Baldwin was explaining how he was going to draw his gun and where his arm would be when he pulled the gun from the holster, it discharged, Russell said.
“It” discharged…?
Other reports claim this was not the first firearms-related mishap on the set, that safety protocols were lax, and that union crew members and camera operators had walked off over a dispute. Presumably, investigators are looking into the possibility that live rounds were either incompetently or deliberately left in (or placed in) the gun after the reported target practice. Perhaps whoever loaded it left fingerprints on the casings, and if the latter, that would take this to a whole other level.
That the assistant director handed Baldwin the “prop” and told him it was a “cold” gun is being used by some to mitigate the actor’s responsibility for the shooting — that and the daughter of the armorer reportedly had competence issues. Some maintain it is not the responsibility of an actor to check props, but rather their job is to trust the experts and do the scene as directed, and that in such circumstances they, meaning Baldwin in this case, should get a pass from Jeff Cooper’s rules.
A common term in legal actions is “knew or should have known.” Baldwin certainly had decades of experience handling all types of firearms in movies, and those presumably included instructions on safe gun handling. His own (reported) words corroborate that:
‘In all my years, I’ve never been handed a hot gun,’ he was heard saying.
Also of relevance: Despite his very public anti-gun sentiments, one would think authorities will look into if Baldwin is a gun owner, for how long, and if he has been a concealed carry permit holder. Those would seem to be factors of legal significance.
While there appears to be plenty of blame to share, Baldwin apologists who would completely absolve him fail to account for the reality that just because you take someone’s word for something doesn’t mean you’re absolved of consequences arising from your actions. I’ll be particularly interested to find out if he fired the gun at the camera as directed or if that was something he did on his own. And that should be easy to quickly determine, provided those who know are willing to say.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
![The question most of the media isn't asking: Was the gun fired under direction, on impulse, or unintentionally? [See update below]](https://www.ammoland.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Alec-Baldwin-iStock-877920526.jpg)
It’s obvious that Alec Baldwin now knows the answer to his long ago tweeted question of:
“I wonder how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone…”
It just reenforces what I have said for a long time about the anti-gun left as a compromise to their wanting to make firearms illegal… Make it illegal for anyone on the anti-gun looney left to own, use, or hire anyone to use a real firearm.
The term frequently used in reporting of this incident is “prop gun” which implies a gun or something that looks like one that is incapable of firing live ammo. Think of an ROTC drill rifle that has had its barrel plugged. But it would seem that the gun in question was a live one that was being used as a prop, another animal entirely. The presence of a live gun on a movie set was f*ck up #1. Another set of terms being thrown about are “dummy round”, “blank round”, and “live round”. Military armorers, movie set armorers, reloaders and… Read more »
Rule #1; All guns are loaded. Rule #2; Never point a gun at anything you don’t want to destroy. These are simple, common sense rules that just might save a life. No, he did not check it. Yes, he was told, just before the incident, that it was cold. Cold gun refers to an unloaded firearm but it could also mean a firearm loaded with dummy rounds so as to be seen as a loaded firearm by the camera. Seems to me this is likely the case. We may be looking at a murder here. SOMEBODY loaded that firearm with… Read more »
It’s one thing to expect an actor to distinguish blanks from live rounds, which can’t be done from the head end, and involves dicking with a professionally prepared piece of machinery that has to function properly on command. It’s quite another to expect him to check that “all the holes are empty,” which is something you can teach any soccer mom in ten minutes.
If alec butthead were competent, he would had checked the firearm himself prior to pulling the trigger.
If butthead were competent, he wouldn’t have muzzled anyone while pulling the trigger.
But, butthead doesn’t need to be competent and live in reality.
And … if it would have been any of us, we would be behind bars.
Baldwin apparently did not verify the status of the firearm, be it a prop that supposedly cannot fire real ammo or a regular firearm that should have been loaded with blanks. Baldwin did not clear the area of his target and what was behind it, either. For each of these mortal sins of safe firearm handling, the POS should rot in jail. His failure to act appropriately resulted in death amd injury. Send him to prison, and tell him not to drop the soap.