Now He Knows ...

For 30 years I carried a gun that I was trained to use in self-defense or to defend others from death or great bodily harm. Somehow, I can never recall asking this question (below). Color me terminally unimaginative, I suppose, but the idea of wrongfully killing someone never occurred to me.

AlecBaldwin @AlecBaldwln____

I wonder how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone...

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Lots of problems here. From the news accounts, the shooting involved a “prop” gun and there was an accident involving “blanks”.

First problem. From my understanding—and I’ve never been on a movie set—there’s a contradiction involved. A “prop” should be a gun for appearances only—in other words, it should be inert, incapable of firing, strictly for show. Based on this understanding, the gun in question should not have been a “prop”.

On the other hand, guns that fire “blanks” would be real guns. The rounds called “blanks” that are used in such guns would differ from real ammunition in two respects.

First, they would probably not be as powerful—although I’m not sure. It’s possible that to create a realistic impression of muzzle blast and recall the “blank” rounds could be close to or equal to real ammunition. “Blanks”, from what I’ve read, are in fact capable of killing a person—but only if the gun is placed pretty much right up against a vital bodily part. Most likely the head, where the blast concussion might cause fatal injury. The problem with this scenario as applied to Baldwin’s case—beyond the obvious that no such “horseplay” should ever, ever occur—is that another person was “wounded” enough to be treated at a hospital. No specifics, however.

The second and important distinction is that what makes “blanks” blank is that they contain no projectile. For one person to be killed and another wounded my working assumption would have to be that a real projectile—a bullet—was fired from the gun. 

That leads to another question. Movie making is highly unionized. When firearms are used on a set—and I read this on the internet—union work rules require an armorer to be present to ensure that real ammunition is not loaded into any gun that’s being used on the set. Safety first. And “real” means: loaded with a bullet. If the rules are followed, no accidents will happen.

Mistake or … what?