Alec Baldwin pointed and fired a loaded gun on the set of the movie “Rust,” killing https://apnews.com/article/halyna-hutchins-cinematographer-dead-d5e1671e61d7b38e225489680f3f1901 (Halyna Hutchins), 42, the cinematographer, and wounding director Joseph Souza, 48.

The answer to the posed question is clearly both. Mr. Baldwin is an actor, and he killed Ms. Hutchins with a bullet fired from the gun he pointed in her direction–and then pulled the trigger. The more important question relating to Baldwin is: Is Mr. Baldwin guilty of involuntary manslaughter?

(N. B. With video coming in a few weeks, this space is now a summary, more like my speaker’s notes, pointing to both the audio podcasts and the videos.)

That is the subject of today’s 15 minute episode.

Continuing:

Three basic rules for handling any gun. The gun used by Baldwin was a high caliber, Colt 45 revolver.

In-store experience.

Chain of events.

Live rounds on the set. 500 live rounds on the set.

Armorer. Inexperienced–low budget movie. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, received the fatal gun from crew member Sarah Zachary. The armorer, who also goes by Hannah Gutierrez, appeared on the “Voices of the West” podcast last month where she admitted she was initially uncertain about her abilities. “I just finished up working on ‘The Old Way’ with Nicolas Cage, his very first Western. It was also my first time being head armorer as well. You know, I was really nervous about it at first and I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready. But doing it, it went really smoothly,” she said. Turns out she was not ready. No one dies when the armorer is ready. Additionally, around half a dozen camera crew members had walked off the “Rust” set just hours before the shooting in protest of working conditions, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News. Earlier, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-22/alec-baldwin-rust-camera-crew-walked-off-set (The Los Angeles Times reported) that there were two previous prop gun misfires on set, one the previous week and one on the prior Saturday. Assistant Director Dave Hall, described as the last line of defense, handed Baldwin the gun, saying “Cold Gun.” Live rounds.

Alec Baldwin himslef, as are all of us, was the last line of defense. He failed. Here’s Mr. Baldwin himself on the subject of guns. “I’m in favour of people owning guns but I’m in favour of there being the most arduous process for them to qualify to own that gun. We license many things in our society. You can’t walk into a store to get all the drugs you need. You could be in agonizing pain, and you still have to go to a hospital and stand in line and you have to go to a doctor and get a prescription from a pharmacist. We license cars. We license a lot of things and I think that we need to license guns beyond the way we do it now.” Qualification must include training and responsible handling, eh, Alec?

Baldwin was not just an actor on the movie Rust, he is a major co-producer of the movie. As the actor who pulled the gun’s trigger and as one of the film’s top producers, he’s facing serious civil liability; insurance liability. Should he also face criminal liability?

Involuntary manslaughter is defined as an unintentional killing. http://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/Codified_Laws/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=22-16-20 (Involuntary manslaughter) usually involves acts of negligence or recklessness that lead to another person’s death. 

Penalties for involuntary manslaughter are generally less severe than other forms of homicide. However, in New Mexico, it is still a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.

This is very much about gun control–personal responsibility. No need for the predictable overreaction coming from the usual suspects.

Hutchins, 42, was...