Category: Born again Cynic!
California gun owners recently won a significant victory from a federal court
judge who declared major parts of the state’s “Unsafe Handgun Act”
unconstitutional because it doesn’t allow newer pistols to be sold in
the state. Don’t party too hardy, as this was likely just the first round.
If you’ve never bought a handgun in California, good for you because the state law has been a train wreck, at least until recently when a federal judge struck down provisions in the law he found unconstitutional.
In the process, Judge Cormac J. Carney granted a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs but granted a 14-day grace period during which the state could appeal the ruling. By the time you read this, the appeal should be in the works.
But Judge Carney’s 22-page ruling contained some gems, and he was blunt about the problems with a handgun “roster” law that has plagued Golden State gun owners for years. As any California can attest, the law has prevented new pistols from being marketed in the state unless they meet some strict standards which, upon reflection, seem deliberately engineered to keep new handgun models out, and perhaps ultimately eliminate handguns altogether.
Hang on while we take you through the word salad of California’s handgun ownership (prevention) law. “UHA” refers to the state law, known as the “Unsafe Handgun Act.” “CLI” refers to “chamber loaded indicator.” And, finally, MDM refers to “magazine disconnect mechanism.” Got it? Good, because here’s a bit of Judge Carney’s wisdom:
“Californians have the constitutional right to acquire and use state-of-the-art handguns to protect themselves,” Judge Carney observed. “They should not be forced to settle for decade-old models of handguns to ensure that they remain safe inside or outside the home. But unfortunately, the UHA’s CLI, MDM, and microstamping requirements do exactly that.
“California’s Unsafe Handgun Act (the “UHA”) seeks to prevent accidental discharges by requiring handguns to have particular safety features,” the judge acknowledged. “First, the UHA requires certain handguns to have a chamber load indicator (“CLI”), which is a device that indicates whether a handgun is loaded.
“Second,” he explained, “the UHA requires certain handguns to have a magazine disconnect mechanism (“MDM”), which prevents a handgun from being fired if the magazine is not fully inserted.
“Third,” Judge Carney concluded, “the UHA requires certain handguns to have the ability to transfer microscopic characters representing the handgun’s make, model, and serial number onto shell casings when the handgun is fired, commonly referred to as microstamping capability. No handgun available in the world has all three of these features.” Right, we’re talking about “microstamping,” and as noted by the judge, “The microstamping requirement has prevented any new handgun models from being added to the Roster since May 2013.”
Who Is Judge Carney?
Cormac Joseph Carney was chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California until he stepped down in 2020 over an incident involving alleged insensitive remarks to Kiry Gray, clerk of the Court.
He was born in Detroit in 1959, but was raised in Long Beach, Calif., graduating from high school there and going on to UCLA, where he played wide receiver for the Bruins football team. He practiced law in Los Angeles and was appointed to the California Superior Court. From there, he was nominated to the federal district court by former President George W. Bush and was confirmed by the Senate in April 2003.
He and his wife have three children, according to an online biography.
Enter the Double Standard
If it weren’t for double standards, California anti-gunners would have no standards at all.
To the point: In Judge Carney’s ruling, he notes, “The UHA’s prohibition on sales of ‘unsafe’ handguns is subject to exceptions as well. It does not apply to sales to law enforcement personnel, personnel from agencies including the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Justice, the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, and the district attorney’s office, or any member of the military.”
He later adds, “if Off-Roster firearms were truly unsafe, California would not allow law enforcement to use them in the line of duty, when the stakes are highest. But the substantial majority of California’s law enforcement officers use Off-Roster handguns in the line of duty.”
And he points to another inconsistency in California bureaucratic reasoning when he notes, “The government argues that the balance of the equities weighs in its favor because an injunction would ‘permit unsafe handguns to be sold in California prior to trial, creating public safety risks.’
But the government’s safety concern rings hollow. Every single semiautomatic handgun available for sale in California at this time is a grandfathered handgun—one the government ostensibly considers ‘unsafe.’ 800 of 832 handguns on the Roster today lack CLI and MDM features. The government cannot credibly argue that handguns without CLI, MDM, and microstamping features pose unacceptable public safety risks when virtually all of the handguns available on the Roster and sold in California today lack those features.”
Can you say “oops?”
California attorney Chuck Michel is also president of the California
Rifle & Pistol Association. (Image courtesy Chuck Michel
Wise Counsel
Enter Chuck Michel, a California attorney with years of experience dealing with, and challenging, state gun control laws. With all the laws facing gun owners, Michel has had lots of practice.
The day Judge Carney handed down his ruling, I traded email with Michel, who also happens to be president of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, one of the plaintiffs in the case. His summation of the ruling was unsympathetic to the state.
“For decades this ‘roster’ law has deprived law-abiding citizens of the right to choose a handgun appropriate for their individual needs,” he observed about the Carney ruling. “The loaded chamber indicator, magazine disconnect, and microstamping requirements were impossible to satisfy, so the number of different models of approved handguns available to buy dropped to barely 200.
“And,” he added, “that’s how the politicians who would love to ban handguns entirely wanted it. If we can hold on to this great Second Amendment win, people will be able to choose from among thousands of the latest, greatest, and safest handguns made today.”
I’ve known Michel for about 20 years, and he earned this win, along with every Californian who has ever been victimized by the state handgun laws. Hopefully, the good guys will prevail.
CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb wants Republicans to block funding for the ATF until Democrats and Biden administration bureaucrats show some respect for the Second Amendment.
CCRKBA Says Unfund ATF
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms recently did something to raise eyebrows. The group called on congressional Republicans to block funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
There’s a condition, of course. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said money should be held up “until Democrats and federal bureaucrats publicly recognize Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, and stop their attacks on legal gun ownership.”
“We’ve seen attacks on Second Amendment rights under previous Democrat presidents,” Gottlieb said in a news release, “but the Biden administration has pulled out all the stops. Joe Biden has publicly declared his desire to ban modern semiautomatic rifles and 9mm pistols, the most popular firearms in the nation.
Millions of honest citizens own semiautomatic rifles for all kinds of uses, including home defense, competition, predator control, recreational shooting and hunting, and they have never harmed anyone. Likewise, millions of men and women own and use 9mm pistols for personal and home protection, training, target shooting, competition, business protection, and other legitimate uses.
“But under Joe Biden,” he continued, “the ATF has been weaponized against law-abiding citizens, and his budget proposal includes $1.9 billion for the agency to expand operations and increase regulation of the firearms industry.
“Clearly,” Gottlieb said, “Biden and the Democrats have decided that American gun owners are their enemy.”
According to the Pentagon, the Russian military is running out of ammunition. The problem is so bad, the U.S. military said, that the Kremlin will soon start dipping into stocks of ammunition produced during the Cold War.
This isn’t necessarily a problem as ammunition isn’t perishable. In the right conditions, it can last a long time. The problem is that Russia tends not to store its ammo in ideal conditions that keep it from rotting.
An anonymous source in the U.S. military told reporters on Monday that Russia was running out of new ammunition. “Their stocks of, again, fully serviceable ammunition, you know, this would be new ammunition, is rapidly dwindling,” the unnamed official told reporters. “Which is probably forcing them to increasingly use ammunition in what we would consider degraded conditions.”
The Pentagon said that, at the current rate of use, Russia might run out of “fully serviceable” artillery and rocket ammunition by early 2023. As Moscow continues to burn through ammo in its war with Ukraine, the official said it will have to rely on less safe munitions.
“They have drawn from [Russia’s] aging ammunition stockpile, which does indicate that they are willing to use that older ammunition, some of which was originally produced more than 40 years ago,” the official told reporters.
Moscow isn’t the only country on the planet that uses old ammunition. The U.S. Air Force has repurposed 18,000 40mm shells built during World War II for use in the AC-130. The Pentagon has wanted to retire the AC-130’s 40mm cannons for a while, but they’ve proven too effective.
Properly stored in a climate-controlled environment, ammunition can last a long time. The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency oversees vast stores of munitions left over from America’s various wars. Some of what it’s sitting on is almost 100 years old. Kept in a cool dry place, some of these ammunition might still be usable. An improperly stored round can be volatile, misfire, and even explode, however.
Russia has never done a great job of properly storing its ammo. We know this because their depots tend to explode. In 2020, an ammo storage warehouse southeast of Moscow exploded, taking 75,000 tonnes of ammo with it. In 2019, an ammo storage depot in Siberia exploded. The warehouse was used to store artillery shells, rockets, and various other munitions. A similar explosion injured eight people in 2015, also in Siberia. In 2009, an explosion at an ammo storage warehouse in the city of Ulyanovsk killed two people.
These are just a few of dozens of examples of ammunition exploding in Russia. Ammo depots have exploded in former Soviet countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It’s also happened in Ukraine, multiple times.
The use of aged ammo is not necessarily the problem, it’s that Russia could soon be relying on unstable and improperly stored munitions pulled from Soviet-era warehouses that they’re lucky haven’t already exploded.
From the CCRKBA . . .
Democrats in the Washington State Legislature put politics ahead of constitutional rights Saturday when they voted 27-21 to approve House Bill 1240, which bans the future sale, manufacture and importation of so-called “assault weapons,” the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
“Contrary to Democrats in Olympia, who sound like they’re reading from the same script, modern semiautomatic firearms are not ‘weapons of war’,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “This ban will not improve public safety, as proponents such as Attorney General Bob Ferguson have asserted. It will only impair the rights of law-abiding citizens, while doing absolutely nothing to prevent criminals from committing murder and mayhem, and they know it.”
The legislation, which goes back to the House for concurrence, does not ban possession of semiautomatic rifles, shotguns or handguns by people who already own them.
“One or more lawsuits challenging this legislation will almost certainly be filed within days, if not hours, of Gov. Jay Inslee’s signing,” Gottlieb predicted. “Ultimately, we expect this law to be nullified by the courts as a violation of the Second Amendment and Washington State’s constitution. In the meantime, of course, Evergreen State gun owners will continue to be treated like second-class citizens by the self-righteous zealots behind the ban, while the criminal element will remain undeterred and unencumbered.
“Proponents of this legislation have touted the results of a poll done last year by the Northwest Progressive Institute showing that 56 percent of Washington voters support a ban,” he continued. “What they overlook is that constitutional rights are not subject to popularity polls, a fact we expect the courts to remind them about in the days ahead.
“The truly sad part about this is that people who have been gulled into believing a gun ban will have any major impact on violent crime are going to find out the hard way they were misled by the gun prohibition lobby,” Gottlieb observed. “All this accomplishes is that it gives anti-gunners an excuse to celebrate at the expense of law-abiding Washington citizens who have committed no crime, and whose only sin is that they choose to exercise a constitutionally protected right. Where’s the justice, or even the logic, in that?”
America must keep faith with its military veterans. We owe the greatest debt to those who risked their lives to keep us free.
But the promises America has made to the women and men who have served in uniform are due for a review. The budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs has grown at a dramatic pace since 9/11 — from roughly $45 billion in 2001 to more than $300 billion this year.
None of these steps would be politically easy. Proposing and voting for new benefits for veterans have long been among the few policy areas that both Democrats and Republicans support. We also know that the array of benefits offered by the VA plays an important role in attracting and retaining the all-volunteer force — especially in an era of low unemployment and rising wages in the civilian sector.
But the moral responsibility Americans have to those who fought for the country is of diminished value if it does not align with the fiscal responsibility Americans have to keep their financial house safe and sound.
I haven’t been enraged reading a news article in a long, long time. Why am I enraged? Because of these Ivy League, snot-nosed fucks at the Washington Post.
These ones.
That’s the publically available editorial staff’s information about the board who wrote one of the most disrespectful articles I have ever seen about veterans. There are so many awful opinions in this opinion piece that it’s difficult to break down each and every one. I’ll lead with some words from the VFW, ya know, the VFW that helps in leading the charge against bullshit like this. The VFW that was a huge driver in getting the PACT act passed.
It is laughable that the employees of one of the richest individuals in the world have the audacity to suggest disabled veterans should be the persons responsible for balancing the federal budget – instead of their wealthy billionaire benefactors who notoriously skirt their tax liabilities.
You would think with all the collective Ivy League degrees held by The Washington Post Editorial Board they would understand basic economics. Instead, they recommend that veterans be subjected to means tests or outright forfeit their earned benefits if they manage to constructively cope with these life-altering disabilities.
If you don’t remember, the PACT Act was established to secure health care and entitlements for thousands of veterans who are being diagnosed with various cancers, lung diseases, and much much more. Health care was also improved for dozens of other causes and ailments.
We have been making great strides in helping or honoring those who served in the longest fucking war in American history. We went to a place where we could have been blown up at any moment. We went to a place where we had to watch someone point a gun at us before we were allowed to return fire. We fought in places where we had to put our battle buddies on choppers in body bags and watch them head back home to their families without breath or a heartbeat.
Vast numbers of us have terrible back problems, difficulty breathing at times, PTSD, Traumatic brain injuries, and on and on and on. These are things that we did for our country and we only ask for what was promised which is payment for the sacrifices to our bodies and minds that no reasonable government or dumb-ass editorial board could ever imagine stripping away with a means test.
Just like the VA’s motto until a few weeks ago, the terminology is what is outdated, not the benefits. Over the years, entitlement has become a bad word that implies laziness or the wanton use of funds by the government. The VA is the opposite of that. The VA provides entitlements based on the injuries you sustained while serving. Those injuries do not go away simply because you got a job. Veterans are entitled to these payments in the purest sense of the word.
Those injuries do not go away simply because the fiscal state of the United States is in dire shape. The injuries remain and will remain for the rest of our natural lives. Injuries like the aforementioned are something those entitled- the bad version now- people who have cushy jobs writing nonsense about some of the hardest working people in this country.
People that while they were typing or doing some kind of financial news stories, we were in sands above 100 degrees for months at time with packs that weighed over 60lbs on the regular. People who while the WP Board was polishing their Pultizers were calling family members on satellite phones from the rooftop where another person was standing watch with a machine gun ready to protect you while you talked to your kids.
People that had no problem walking near and over IEDs so that we could locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver while you were at the latest James Beard award-winning restaurant. While they were in their posh environments, many of us were marching to the sounds of the guns.
The injuries sustained by veterans and active duty members should be one of the last wells that we fill our buckets with simply because the well is closer and easier to draw water from. Walk to the next village over and look in that well of governmental waste. While I type this blog, my hands shake. My hands aren’t shaking because I am mad, which I am, my hands shake because I sustained an injury to my fucking brain when I was blown up by an IED. Does that change because I have a good job? No.
Does the veteran with PTSD lose it when she works in an accounting job now? No.
Does the Washington Post editorial board deal with any of that? I’d imagine not. While we were going to MOS schools, they were going to Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Cornell. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going to one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
There is something wrong, however, when you sit there on your ivory fucking tower and scoff your nose at those with injuries, whether you believe they are true or not because you read a congressional budget office proposal and were bored on a Friday afternoon.
While I dont think this type of idea has or ever will get any legs, it’s beyond insulting when a huge newspaper like the Washington Post writes an opinion piece that can mislead and manipulate readers with a lesser understanding of the inner workings of both the VA and the veteran service organizations.
There are plenty of ways to improve the VA, the costs associated with the care of veterans, and the budget without ripping away the entitlements veterans are owed.
It is not only insulting but it also is completely untenable. Homes would go into foreclosure, cars would be repossessed, and families would struggle even more to put food on the table, a concern I’d imagine those Harvard, Yale, and Cornell graduates have never felt in their entire fucking lives.
The Washington Post editorial staff is an abomination to veterans. The Washington Post editorial staff seemingly are terrible people who target those who have served while not being personally impacted in any way. The Washington Post deserves to be shamed on the corner of every street in America. Still though, the military members who have served, are serving, or will serve are going to continue to serve so organizations like the Washington Post can write utter rubbish.
Freedom of the Press is a right guaranteed by the Consitution and those who you are trying to remove benefits from are the guarantors of that right. While invoking your absolute right to free speech, sometimes it’s better to invoke your Fifth Amendment right of shutting the fuck up.
S&W TRR8 two-piece barrel system is held in place by a special slotted nut. Image by TFB’s Rusty S from his TRR8 Review.
Welcome to another edition of TFB’s Wheelgun Wednesday, where we discuss all topics revolving around revolvers. Today’s topic comes from gunsmith Dave Lauck, of D&L Sports, in which he addresses one of the main detractors of the design of two-piece barrels for modern revolvers, which is that they can loosen under recoil over time.
The most prominent examples of two-piece barrels comes from the popular Smith & Wesson scandium framed Model 300 series, such as the 325, 327 (aka TRR8 and R8), and 329. While there’s no certainty that each revolver with a two-piece barrel will loosen, people have reported this problem, which can lead to less than optimal conditions for accuracy and safety, so let’s take a look at Mr. Lauck’s solution to loose two-piece barrels.
THE PROBLEM OF TWO-PIECE BARRELS, AND A SOLUTION
Another example of a two-piece revolver barrel, the Taurus Raging Hunter. Image from TFB’s Adam S’s review.
For those that are new to the concept of two-piece barrels, the steel, rifled barrel that interacts with the bullet is covered by a barrel shroud that incorporates the sights and rail systems for optics and weapon lights, if so endowed. The main advantage of this two-piece barrel system is weight savings, which is why Smith & Wesson utilize it on their lightweight scandium frames, thus a minimal amount of heavier steel is used for the overall design while keeping the aesthetics and features appealing.
As a side note, I’ve always loved the look of S&W’s 300 series revolvers. The second advantage of two-piece barrels is that the rifled barrel could be replaced if the owner shot it so much that the rifling begins to disappear, however, I’m guessing that aspect is rarely required with the exception of a few competition shooters.
Dave Lauck provided TFB his description of the two-piece barrel problem, and his resultant solution:
Multi piece revolver barrels can provide a weight savings by using various materials. Many shooters want to reduce weight on a carry gun. However, experience has shown that these barrel assemblies frequently come loose. Another problem is that it takes specialized tooling to correct the problem.
At DLS inc the goal is to solve problems with design improvements so they don’t occur in the field. The loose barrel problem can be solved with proper fitting and installing a barrel lock. While this custom work is being done, the barrel can also be given a precision, recessed and protected target crown, instead of the difficult to clean step crown. In addition, while the barrel is out of the frame the forcing cone can be properly cut and polished for best performance.
An image of the separated two-piece barrel system from the S&W 325. Image credit: DLSports.com
As you can see in the photo below, Mr. Lauck’s barrel lock is installed just aft of the barrel shroud on the top of the frame. The barrel lock is essentially a set screw that keeps the barrel from turning under recoil. The photo that follows is of TFB’s Rusty S’s S&W TRR8 in its factory condition without a barrel lock.
Image Credit: DLSports.com
Rusty’s S&W TRR8 without a barrel lock. Image credit: Rusty S.
Mr. Lauck also addressed another potential design issue with a feature also seen on the above-listed revolvers, as well as on some Ruger GP100 and Redhawk series of revolvers, the spring-loaded front sights. He describes the issue and his solution below:
Another problem that arises too often with spring loaded interchangeable front sights is they get caught on the top lip of the holster while re-holstering. When the revolver is pushed into the holster the front sight becomes unlatched from the retaining pin.
Then when the revolver is drawn again, the front sight falls out of the gun during the draw stroke, and is often lost under field conditions.
This is another concerning problem that should be prevented before it occurs. Once the correct front sight is selected to achieve proper zero on target, then the front sight should receive an additional cross pin to rigidly secure it in place, even during rough use. The sharp, fragile and shallow notch rear sight can be replaced with a DLS inc heavy duty rear sight to solve those problems.
Thanks to Dave Lauck for providing his insight into these issues. If you’d like to see more of his custom work and services, visit DLSports.com. Have you or any of your friends encountered a loose two-piece barrel on a revolver? What did you do about it? What about losing a front sight, spring-loaded or otherwise?
Doug E
Doug has been a firearms enthusiast since age 16 after getting to shoot with a friend. Since then he’s taken many others out to the range for their first time. He is a husband, father, grandfather, police officer, outdoorsman, artist and a student of history. Doug has been a TFB reader from the start and is happy to be a contributor of content. Doug can be reached at battleshipgrey61 AT gmail.com, or battleshipgrey61 on Instagram.
North Korea is preparing to send 500,000 soldiers from its armed forces on combat missions in support of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, a Russian state TV war correspondent has claimed.
In his youtube video, Aleksander Sladkov, a seasoned Russian journalist specializing in military affairs, claimed that North Korea is firmly aligned with Russia in the ongoing conflict.
He further added that Pyongyang is willing to contribute to the effort by dispatching its troops to take part in the special military operation – a term commonly used by Moscow instead of referring to the conflict as a war with Ukraine.
However, Sladkov, citing sources in Pyongyang, also mentioned that this military assistance from North Korea would necessitate approval from China.
Sladkov further said that an impressive force of at least 500,000 North Korean troops is prepared to assist the Russian military, and a decision regarding their deployment to fight in Ukraine could be made presently.
Sladkov described how North Korea has reportedly issued a call for volunteers, who are willing to participate in the Russian operations in Ukraine, and on the first day alone, around 800,000 individuals expressed their eagerness to join.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, reportedly declared that her country is “on the same boat” as Russia, implying that North Korea supports the Russian point of view on the conflict.
Additionally, Kim Yo Jong herself has stated that a war could potentially break out between North Korea and the United States.
“I spoke with a friend of mine, the head of a Korean war veterans’ organization. He was here recently. I said, ‘What do you guys have?’ He said,’ 50,000 special forces are ready for deployment’,” said Sladkov.
Sladkov’s claim comes after a military analyst based in Kyiv commented on the possibility of North Korea providing military aid to Russia.
The notion of North Korean troops potentially participating in the conflict in Ukraine is not a new one and has been previously discussed by various experts and officials.
However, since Sladkov’s comments are coming from a source, it indicates that the speculation is being taken more seriously and has moved up a level.
North Korea Sends Weapons To Russia
In November 2022, the United States claimed that Russia was procuring weapons from North Korea and employing them in the conflict with Ukraine.
However, both Russia and North Korea have denied claims by the United States that Russia is procuring millions of rounds of ammunition and other weapons from North Korea.
Furthermore, it was reported that North Korea supplied rockets and missiles to the Wagner Group, a private military company based in Russia.
The United States has already designated the Wagner Group as a “transnational criminal organization” due to its alleged illicit weapons trade with North Korea, which violates United Nations Security Council resolutions.
As Russia has become increasingly isolated due to its conflict with Ukraine, it has recognized the growing significance of its relationship with North Korea.
While the relationship between the two countries hasn’t always been as amicable as it was during the Soviet era, North Korea is currently benefiting from Moscow’s desire for allies.
Russia, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, has consistently opposed putting more pressure on North Korea.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea publicly expressed its support for Moscow, including recognizing the independence of breakaway regions.
The acquisition of weapons from nations such as Iran and North Korea could serve as a temporary solution for Moscow even as it seeks to boost its domestic defense production to fulfill the military’s requirements.
By doing so, Russia could continue fighting at a similar pace as before. Experts believe that since Russia is currently competing with the industrial output of western countries, it will need to restructure its defense industry accordingly, which will take time.
Furthermore, military observers have pointed out the risks associated with North Korean missiles and ammunition, which are unlikely to have been manufactured to a high standard.
US officials highlighted that the shipments of weapons that Russia has acquired from Iran and North Korea indicate that the ongoing war in Ukraine and western sanctions have weakened Russia’s military capabilities and reduced its ability to manufacture new weapons.
This aerial photo shows the movie set of “Rust” at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021.
ABCNews
The first assistant director for “Rust” has been sentenced to six months unsupervised probation as part of a plea deal in connection with the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
David Halls, 63, was charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon in connection with the October 2021 shooting on the Santa Fe set of the Western. Halls had handed a Colt .45 revolver to Alec Baldwin that fired while the actor was practicing a cross-draw, striking Hutchins. Attorneys for Halls and Baldwin have said neither knew there were any live rounds in the firearm.
During a virtual plea hearing on Friday, Halls pleaded no contest to his misdemeanor charge. He answered the judge’s questions though did not make any further statement on the incident.
“He, like many others, is extremely traumatized and just rattled with guilt and so many other feelings of, what could I have done better? How could I have changed things?” his attorney, Lisa Torraco, said during the hearing.
Torraco asked the judge for a deferred sentence and argued that his role as safety coordinator was not to control how people handled firearms but to ensure there were safety meetings held.
“Mr. Halls is in a lot of pain and a lot of trauma. He was 3 feet from Ms. Hutchins when the firearm went off. No one expected this,” Torraco said.
Prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued that as safety coordinator, it was Halls’ responsibility to ensure that the firearm did not have any live rounds and that there had been previous safety issues on set involving firearm discharges.
“Obviously this was a very serious incident. A young woman lost her life,” Morrissey said while asking for a suspended sentence.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommers ultimately sided with the state, telling Halls, “I am not persuaded that a deferred sentence is appropriate for you in this case.”
In addition to six months unsupervised probation, the terms of the sentence include that Halls pay a $500 fine, perform 24 hours of community service, take a fire safety course within 60 days, testify in all hearings involving the shooting and have no contact with co-defendants or witnesses.
Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were both charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over Hutchins’ death. Gun enhancement charges for both were dropped in late February.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to his charges and has also denied pulling the trigger. Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney has said she intends to plead not guilty and has said she has no idea how live rounds ended up in the gun.
Both are scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on May 3.
Halls’ hearing comes days after Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced she was stepping away from prosecuting the case and appointed Morrissey and Jason Lewis to serve as special prosecutors.