Firearm Safety
I have long believed that the so-called "fear of guns" is often nothing more than a veiled fear of responsibility. Comments made recently by the actor Alec Baldwin, following his shooting an innocent crew member while filming, support my theory.
Alec Baldwin on 'Rust' shooting: 'Someone is responsible ... but I know it's not me'
Actor spoke with George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive interview on ABC, Hulu.
If Alec Baldwin had ever been schooled in firearm safety, he would understand that when a person has a gun in his hand, and that gun fires—for whatever reason, the person holding the gun is responsible for the bullet. This is why safety rules are drummed into student’s before they are allowed to handle firearms; e.g. “treat every firearm as a loaded gun” and “always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.”
The lame excuse “I didn’t know the gun was loaded” means nothing more than that the person holding the gun didn’t take time to check to see whether it was loaded or not—or what the gun was loaded with. The descriptive word for that is negligence.
Sad.
UPDATE: A brief scholarly exposition from Attorney Andrew Branca regarding this case:
UPDATE: On 13 August 2022, ABC News reported that they had obtained a copy of the FBI Firearm Examiner’s report regarding this case, and the FBI report confirmed that the gun that Baldwin was holding (and pointing at the victim) would not fire unless the trigger was pulled.
The gun used in the fatal shooting on the "Rust" movie set could not have been fired without pulling the trigger, according to an FBI forensic report obtained Friday by ABC News.
No surprise, just disgust for foolish people who blame guns for their own careless and/or reckless behavior.
/fl