Hawaii Movie Theaters Inspecting Bags, Packages
The policy appears to have been prompted by recent attacks on the mainland over a two-week聽period in July and August.
Thinking of catching “Straight Outta Compton” or “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” at the local cineplex?
Be sure not to bring any weapons.
That seems to be聽the implication from the quiet posting of signs at Regal and Consolidated theaters in Hawaii.
One sign at Kahala Theatres last week read, “We reserve the right to inspect all bags and packages upon entering the theater.” A similar sign was posted at Ward Stadium 16.
Civil Beat’s calls to Regal and Consolidated were not returned, but one theater attendant said the signs went up just a few days ago.
A sign of the times at Kahala Theatres.
Chad Blair/Civil Beat
Meanwhile, a聽customer going to “Ricki and the Flash” at Dole Cannery last week said she was surprised by the search and asked if the attendants were聽looking for guns. An聽attendant replied that they are not supposed to say anything about guns.
Nationally, 聽that security at theaters is becoming聽a necessary reality. After all, “America鈥檚 5,700 movie theaters remain one of the last major public gathering places without routine security.”
That is changing after attacks earlier this month in Tennessee, where a man with a history of mental illness聽entered a聽cinema wearing a surgical mask and toting a pellet gun and a hatchet during a showing of “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and last month in Louisiana, where a man with a history of erratic and violent behavior聽killed two people and injured nine others with a聽handgun before killing himself during a showing of “Trainwreck.”
聽that a聽movie theater chain has banned moviegoers from bringing in backpacks and packages. Showcase聽Cinemas聽operates theaters in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Ohio.
In related news, the convicted gunman who killed 16 and left more than 80 wounded in Colorado in 2012 during a screening of the latest “Dark Knight” film has been sentenced to life in prison after a single juror balked at giving him the death penalty.
Last summer, one man fatally shot another in a Florida theater because he was annoyed that聽.
Time reports that when聽moviegoers in Los Angeles showed up for the premiere of “Straight Outta Compton” this week, “they were greeted by a sight rarely seen in America鈥檚 cinemas: metal detectors.”
Movie theaters, like churches, remain largely unguarded for now, Time observes. They are聽also dark and dense places, and exits can be hard to find.
Theater owners are not thrilled to be giving customers less incentives to go to the movies, given the Internet options for films that are already cutting into their profits.
