Cinematographer signs open letter opposing guns on sets

(NewsNation Now) — In the wake of the fatal shooting on the film set for “Rust,” calls are growing to ban real guns on set.

Cinematographer Brad Rushing has signed an open letter encouraging just that. Rushing never met cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the woman killed in the “Rust” set shooting, but said they were “a few degrees separated from each other.”

“I never had the privilege of meeting her personally, but many of my friends and crew knew her and loved her, I was aware of her,” Rushing said. “And because of the nature of the work that we do, because we work long hours, often on remote locations; we’re together for long periods of time, there’s a bond between us and also, we’re all artists.”

Calls are growing in the entertainment industry to ban firearms on film sets. Rushing believes real guns are no longer necessary on sets.

“A lot of people point out that [a set shooting is] a rare incident. But even if it’s rare, the fact (is) that it’s not necessary, I just don’t know. We don’t feel we can justify the risk,” Rushing said.

He believes that given the advances in CGI technology, real guns are too much of a liability.

“Even when you use real muzzle flashes and blanks, they’re often enhanced or even replaced with CG these days,” he said. “No matter how remote the risk is, it’s not worth it.”

Rushing said he will no longer work on sets where real guns are present.