'Rust'-related gun safety bill fails to pass in California due to conflict with Hollywood studios and unions

Discussions stalled once again between the Motion Picture Association and Hollywood labor unions following a bid for a new law to protect cast and crew on production sets with firearm safety requirements following the fatal "Rust" shooting in October.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on the New Mexico set of the Western film and director Joel Souza was wounded by a bullet when live ammunition was accidentally loaded into a weapon fired by Alec Baldwin while rehearsing a scene in a church. The actor has since denied he pulled the trigger of the gun that killed Hutchins.

Senate Bill 831 released in January 2022 aimed to "raise safety standards on sets and regulate ammunition, blanks, and firearms that are capable of firing ammunition," while a similar Senate Bill 829 was more specifically tailored for weapons to remain "under the supervision of an armorer at all times" and further defined terms of the purpose of an armorer.