Alec Baldwin urged to ‘use his power for change’ as petition to ban real guns on film sets passes 23,000 signatures

Several showrunners have already pledged to never use real firearms in their productions again

A petition urging Alec Baldwin to “use his power and influence in Hollywood” to ban real guns on film sets has garnered more than 23,000 signatures.

The change.org petition was launched by filmmaker Bandar Albuliwi on Friday (22 October), the day after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by Baldwin on the set of Rust. The actor described the killing as a “tragic accident” and is working with police in their investigation.

The petition states: “We need to make sure that this avoidable tragedy never happens again. There is no excuse for something like this to happen in the 21st century. Real guns are no longer needed on film production sets.

“This isn’t the early Nineties, when Brandon Lee was killed in the same manner. Change needs to happen before additional talented lives are lost.”

It continues: “Please sign this petition and demand for Alec Baldwin to use his power and influence in the Hollywood film industry to make change and ban real guns on film sets.”

The petition also calls for better working conditions on independent and studio film sets.

Just before the incident on the set of Rust, six members of the film’s camera crew had quit over late pay and safety conditions.

The incident has sparked an industry-wide conversation about guns on sets. On Friday, ABC’s police drama The Rookie banned real guns. And Eric Kripke, showrunner for Amazon Prime’s The Boys, tweeted: “no more guns with blanks on any of my sets ever. We’ll use VFX muzzle flashes. Who’s with me?”

Craig Zobel, director of Mare of Easttown and The Leftovers, wrote on Twitter: “There’s no reason to have guns loaded with blanks or anything on set anymore. Should just be fully outlawed. There’s computers now. The gunshots on Mare of Easttown are all digital. You can probably tell, but who cares? It’s an unnecessary risk.”