New Mexico Senator Pushes For Gun Safety Course Following Rust Tragedy
Tragedy struck the set of Rust when cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by a prop gun discharged by Alec Baldwin back in October of 2021. Now, New Mexico Senator Cliff Pirtle has responded to the untimely death of Hutchins by proposing SB 188, a bill that would mandate film workers take a gun safety course.
The Rust cinematographer's on-set shooting death occurred when Baldwin fired what he believed to be a cold weapon. This tragedy sparked much debate among film workers and the public alike regarding the obvious gaps that exist in the film industry's handling of weaponry. Now, Pirtle has introduced a bill he hopes will close some of those gaps by mandating film workers on any set in New Mexico take a gun safety course.
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Currently, New Mexico does not require any form of certification for those who handle weapons while on a film set. The state also lacks any form of weapons training that is tailored to the film industry specifically, but Variety reports Senator Pirtle is proposing set workers on all productions be required to take the state's gun safety course meant for hunters under the age of 18. This course teaches safe gun handling as well as basic shooting and hunting skills. The New Mexico Senator believes teaching film workers these basic skills could help prevent future tragedies on film sets.
This bill has been met with pushback from veteran film workers. Scott Rasmussen, who has worked in the industry for almost three decades, took the hunters course as a child and does not believe it is in any way relevant to the film industry. Rasmussen also did not agree with Pirtle's mandate applying to the entire crew when the majority
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