Alec Baldwin has received backlash on social media for reposting a message about gun control in light of his fatal shooting on the set of Rust.
The actor, charged with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, shared the statement after a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, where six people were killed.
The original post, authored by musician Peter Frampton on Twitter, detailed the effectiveness of the UK’s tight gun control legislation following a 1996 school shooting in Dunblane, Scotland. Baldwin reposted the message on his Instagram account without a caption.
However, the post drew criticism due to the actor’s accidental shooting of Hutchins in October 2021. Comments ranged from accusations of hypocrisy to arguments that the issue was about mental health, not guns.
Following the backlash, Baldwin limited the comments on his post.
This development comes after Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, who charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter, stepped down from the case due to several setbacks. Carmack-Altwies will be replaced by local attorneys Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, with the former prosecutor stating she is stepping down to focus on other cases in the state. She is the second prosecutor to leave the case after special prosecutor Andrea Reeb recused herself earlier this year.
Carmack-Altwies initially charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in January, more than a year after the Rust shooting incident. She also charged him with a severe firearm enhancement offence, which could have resulted in up to five years in prison if convicted. However, a judge dismissed this charge, as it wasn’t introduced into law until May 2022, several months after the fatal accident on the film set.
Baldwin’s legal team had expressed concerns about Andrea Reeb’s dual role as both a prosecutor in his case and a Republican state lawmaker, which might have contributed to her recusal earlier in the year.
The Rust tragedy has sparked widespread discussions on gun control, on-set safety protocols, and the responsibility of actors and crew members when handling firearms during film production. In light of the recent mass shooting in Nashville, the debate surrounding gun control and related issues continues to intensify, with public figures like Alec Baldwin drawing attention to the matter despite facing criticism for their past actions.
As the legal proceedings in the Rust case continue to evolve, the impact of the incident on both the film industry and the broader conversation around gun control remains significant.
