Rep. Sheryl Cole has filed House Bill 1471, which would require any film or television project that accepts state incentive funds to require anyone handing a gun to complete the state’s Hunter Education course.
AUSTIN, Texas — The tragic shooting death on the set of the western film “Rust” has led an Austin lawmaker to file a bill requiring firearms training for certain films and movies that intend to use guns.
Rep. Sheryl Cole, D-Austin, has filed House Bill 1471, which would require any film or television project that accepts state incentive funds to require anyone handing a gun to complete the state’s . That six-hour course, administered by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, covers firearm and hunter safety, as well as ethical hunting practices.A shooting accident on a Western film in New Mexico ended in the death of one of the film's cinematographersCole's bill would require Texas firearms training for films or TV shows that receive Texas film incentives“What happened on the ‘Rust’ movie set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, over a year ago was an unimaginable tragedy that resulted in loss of life for Halyna Hutchins,” Cole said in an announcement of her bill. “As time has passed on, it’s become clear that there were many avoidable missteps that happened for this to occur, and it became crucial that we make sure this doesn’t happen in Texas.” The District Attorney in Santa Fe County is expected to file two counts of involuntary manslaughter against Alec Baldwin, who has roles as both actor and producer on “Rust.” Charges also will be filed against the film’s armorer. Production on the film continues with on-set safety supervisors and no firearms. Tony Armer has been on the job as Dallas Film Commissioner for just over a month. Before that, he was both a film commissioner and a film director in Florida. He has directed sets that have used firearms, and he considers the shooting on the Rust set to be preventable. “I have personal experience working on sound sets as a director, using firearms on a set,” Armer said. “The whole thing, obviously as everyone knows, was a very, very avoidable tragedy.” Most sets have multiple layers of accountability to avoid safety incidents, firearm or otherwise, Armer said. A lot of it is self-regulated by the industry. Sets that use firearms have a weapons armorer who checks guns before they reach the actor and first assistant director. Beyond that, film commissions — such as the one where Armer worked before he came to Dallas — often required additional on-set safety requirements. “In the St. Pete-Clearwater-Tampa Bay area — where I was commissioner prior to this job in Dallas — we would require that anyone who had firearms on the set, even if the guns were unloaded, they would have to have a police officer on the set, on duty, as well,” Armer said. “On a short film I did there — even when we were using guns with blanks — we would show the weapon to the police officer before we ever did the scene.” Those are the extra layers of caution that can minimize a potential on-set tragedy like Rust, Armer said. The biggest mistake on the “Rust” set was that they had live rounds on set, allegedly for target shooting when actors were not filming scenes. “Why there were live rounds anywhere near a film set is mind-boggling,” Armer said. “From what I’ve read, they were off somewhere, you know, shooting targets or something. That should never be. To mix live rounds in there, it gives you the possibility of something like this happening.” Conservative lawmakers have attempted to zero out film incentives in prior state budgets. Still, Texas is attractive to many filmmakers, be it the television show “Dallas” in the 1980s or “Walker, Texas Ranger” in the 1990s or “Friday Night Lights” in the 2000s. Current productions in the Dallas region include “Bass Reeves,” a production starring Dennis Quaid and David Oyelowo and helmed by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. The series “1883,” also helmed by Sheridan, was shot in the area and ended after one season. Armer also points out “The Chosen,” a first-ever multi-season series about the life of Jesus. The show has a huge following, was funded entirely by crowdsourcing and is free to livestream. The show is produced by Angel Studios, which has crowdfunded several faith-based productions.
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