I've been over this in my head more than a few times, but I simply can't get past one thing. Now this is just a personal opinion, mind you, but I consider it valid.
If I were "acting" in this capacity and was handed a gun, there is no way in sam hell I would point it at another human and pull the trigger unless I had done the check on it MYSELF. I mean, I even get a little itchy watching people point toy guns at others. It's just burned into my brain so deep.. and even after I checked and was sure the gun was loaded with simple blanks, I would still be real hesitant to do it. It makes me extremely uncomfortable just thinking about it. Maybe he's not allowed to open it up and look? I dunno man, but I'd never trust another person at that level, I have to see it for myself or I'm not doing it.
I know it's part of the job, but I still believe Baldwin carries some of the burden here. Rumor is also flying that they he was just assing around with the gun when it happened. I've no idea how true any of that is.
As usual, info is dribbling out. Baldwin was the producer of the movies. Thus he was responsible for proper staffing and organization. Some of the union people walked off the set just hours before the shooting, citing safety problems. I'm wary of union people claims, but evidently there were accidents with prop guns three times prior to the shooting. So their dafety concerns seem to have been real, and then there's the shooting.
As producer, Baldwin "owns" the hiring of the armorers, even if he did not choose whom to hire directly. As producer, Baldwin was responsible for not firing the armorers after each accident, three distinct failures. As producer, Baldwin was responsible for making sure proper safety training was done, and followed. Apparently some safety training was done, but reports I've seen indicate that Baldwin, personally, was careless. And the three prior accidents are evidence that carelessness on the set was pervasive.
As for your point, Baldwin probably didn't have the knowledge to do the check, if the gun was a semi-auto.
BUT as producer, he should have observed what was loaded into that pistol, especially after there having been three prior accidents, and had the pistol marked to avoid confusing it with another prop gun. And if there was more than one similar prop gun, only one should be loaded at a time, unless a scene required otherwise.
The bottom line, IMO (based on what I "know") is that while Baldwin should not be on the hook for a murder or manslaughter charge, he should be for whatever NM calls negligent homicide. As a GoogTube video producer said about a very different context, this killing is like an onion, with multiple layers of failure. Many of those failure layers are Baldwin failing to do his job as producer. Baldwin is an
assaholic. Any right choice among several failed choices probably would have prevented this woman's death.