Maybe a month or two ago I ran across a nifty computer keyboard in some publication. At the time I thought, “It’s really nice, I like that it’s mechanical, It’s cool that you can order it with switches that are firm, medium, or light, which allow you to have a keyboard that is exactly what you want, but dang that’s really expensive,”
So I moved on to the next thing and forgot the manufacturers name. After all, the 8 year old keyboard I’ve got works just fine and I’m used to it.
Then yesterday, my reliable old keyboard started missing space bar presses and occasionally other keys as well. I considered the problem and admitted that it might be time for me to pony up the cash for a new one. I tried to go back and find the article in my Apple News History. I haven’t found the article I was looking for but did stumble across the Alec Baldwin, George Stephanopoulos interview where Baldwin tearfully claims he didn’t pull the trigger.
What a load of runny horse shit!
I was able to let the statement of the Armorer from the production “Someone must have put a live bullet in the gun,” go because that statement was so stupid it required no comment.
Had I commented at the time, I’d have said, “No Shit dumbass!“
But Alec Baldwin crying and saying he didn’t pull the trigger?
Oh hell no, I can’t let that one go.
The gun reportedly used in the crime, (Yes, it was a crime!) was a period specific Colt revolver or a replica of the venerable Colt revolver. This gun, as are most guns, is a purely mechanical machine. There are no batteries, no electronics, no circuitry, and no software.
Guns in general are relatively simple machines that exist in the real physical world and require real physical actions to operate. They can’t be hacked.
The person holding the gun is the power source and the directing intelligence.
As you can see from the diagram, (Thank you Nichols Ranch), There are approximately 24 components in a revolver. (24 in the diagram, there could be fewer in other models) The last two components in the diagram above are the Bullet and its shell.
Functionally, you could loose the grips and the logos, possibly the ejector rod and spring, and the cylinder cover, and still have a functional weapon. It would probably bruise your hand if you fired it without the grips but the weapon would still work as designed.
There is no magic here. This is simply an elegant mechanical system.
To fire the assembled weapon requires the following steps.
Open the cylinder cover
Put rounds (a bullet and its shell) in at least some of the chambers of the cylinder. In this case a maximum of six chambers can have rounds inserted.
Close the cylinder cover
Cock the hammer.
Take aim
Pull the trigger
Repeat the last three steps as necessary five more times, then start at step one.
Note there are three inherent safety mechanisms present.
If rounds are not loaded, the gun is not ready to fire
If the hammer isn’t cocked, the gun is not ready to fire.
If the trigger is not pulled, the gun will not fire, even if rounds are present and the hammer is cocked.
I’m not a gunsmith, but if I’m looking at the diagram correctly, it appears that the action of cocking the hammer is what causes the cylinder to rotate, moving the next round to firing position.
This mechanical simplicity is why the revolver and integrated shells & bullets revolutionized guns.
Prior to the revolver, the choice was a cap and ball pistol, which basically gave you one shot, then you had to spend a minute reloading before you could take a second shot (think about a cannon). That’s probably why everyone carried a sword with their pistol.
For close to 200 years, the revolver has been around, it’s well understood, reliable, and has undergone some evolution but not a whole lot.
There is a variation of the revolver where pulling the trigger also cocks the hammer.
This is why when handling a weapon you never put your finger on the trigger, and you never take anyone’s word for it, that the weapon is not loaded. You always check!
Even then if you need to pull the trigger (as in you’re checking proper function,) you always aim in a safe direction. You do not pull the trigger unless you are sure that no-one is downrange.
Given the simplicity of the revolver that Baldwin was probably using, for him to claim he didn’t pull the trigger is a bald faced lie. He may not remember pulling the trigger, but he sure as hell did.
The only other scenario that has a remote possibility is that he partially cocked the revolver when he pulled it from the holster. In that scenario though, it’s far more likely that he would have had the weapon fire the moment it cleared the holster.
I rather suspect that in that scenario Baldwin would have shot himself. I also suspect that the mechanism that rotates the cylinder would not have brought a round into correct firing position since the hammer wouldn’t have completed its travel.
That being said, if the weapon was worn or had been abused it’s a remote possibility.
However there wouldn’t have been enough of a delay for Baldwin to have brought the weapon to a firing position for the view of the camera. (They were rehearsing, the assumption is they were trying to frame a shot.)
No matter what. In this situation Alec Baldwin was the person holding the weapon. Baldwin was the person who violated gun safety protocols. Baldwin is the person who clearly still has no idea how guns work.
Ultimately, Alec Baldwin is the person who shot two people, one fatally. Alec Baldwin is therefore the responsible party and must answer for his negligence.
Update: I was just reading another article on Baldwin’s interview.
Baldwin said, “So, I take the gun and I start to cock the gun. I’m not going to pull the trigger,” he continued. “And I cock the gun, I go, ‘Can you see that? Can you see that? Can you see that?’ And then I let go of the hammer of the gun, and the gun goes off. I let go of the hammer of the gun – the gun goes off.“
Was the gun cocked Alec or was it not? In this type of gun if you’re holding the trigger down and you pull the hammer back then release it the gun will fire. You’d know that if you’d paid attention in any of the on-site gun training you’ve no doubt received during your many years of movie making where you were handling guns. You’re essentially describing that you “fanned” the hammer.
Stephanopoulos stated, “There are some who say you’re never supposed to point a gun on anyone on a set no matter what.”
Baldwin replied, “Unless the person is the cinematographer, who’s directing me at where to point the gun for her camera angle,” Baldwin replied. “I didn’t point the gun at her, and she said, ‘Hey, man, don’t point the gun at me.’ I pointed the gun in a direction she wanted.”
Is it me or does Baldwin’s reply sound like he was trying to blame the victim?
“Do you feel guilt?,” Stephanopoulos asked.
“No. No,” Baldwin said. “I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.“
What a piece of Shit Alec Baldwin is!
He goes on to describe how he has dreams and emotional distress. Trying to paint himself as the victim.
Really? Alec Baldwin, you are filth! I cannot even describe how reading your responses has sickened me.
I hope the family, the members on set, and everyone in the production sues you into poverty. I hope the police, the district attorney, the judge, and a jury throw the book at you. I hope you end up doing hard labor in a prison in New Mexico for the rest of your miserable life.
It’s one thing to have this be an accident. It’s quite another for you to try to slime your way out of responsibility and essentially say, she was asking for it.
BTW… I still haven’t found that keyboard site!