NRA Accuses ‘Rust’ Producers Of Endangering Crew By Not Giving Everyone Guns

FAIRFAX, VA—Condemning what it described as reckless safety practices in the film industry, the National Rifle Association issued a scathing statement Wednesday in which it accused the producers of Rust of endangering their crew by failing to provide every single person on set with a loaded gun. “If everyone working on the shoot that day had been carrying a firearm with live ammunition, things might have played out very differently,” NRA president Carolyn D. Meadows said in reference to the shooting death last week during production on the film, a tragedy she blamed on the apparent decision to cut costs by only arming Rust’s star and not anyone who worked behind the camera. “Just imagine if each person on location—from the production assistants to the makeup artists to the caterers—had been given access to at least one AR-15 and two handguns per man. I’m not saying that woman would still be alive, but at least crew members would have had the opportunity to squeeze off some rounds at the man who shot her, ensuring the threat was permanently neutralized.” Meadows added that the NRA also opposes the film industry’s use of prop guns and blanks, which she said force actors to work under conditions in which they have no means of self defense.