By now we have all seen the news that Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed are going to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. I am not going to comment about that since like everyone else they deserve their day in court and are innocent until proven guilty.
That being said, after the incident I began to review all of the materials and watch all of the interviews with everyone involved. It became apparent to me that it wasn’t if something could happen but when. I researched even more to find something so shocking! Apparently, NO ARMOUR IS CERTIFIED! That’s right none of them are certified to handle any firearms! The process to become an entertainment armor is that you have to work for one as an apprentice. When they feel you are ready, you make an application to the State of California to receive an entertainment firearms permit. This permit allows you to transport weapons, no testing and nothing else is required. Then you make an application to the Prop Masters Union, and you are an “Armor”. California currently has a bill still yet to pass S.B.829 which requires “Armors” to receive training and certification.
After seeing all of this, I sat down and created a firearms training course specifically for those in the entertainment field which we call S.A.F.E. (Screen Actors Firearm Education). I did this so people who are in this profession can be trained in the safe handling of firearms. While any firearm should be considered to be dangerous, it really is a true danger when you aren’t trained.