Was MJR Right to Ban Costume-Clad Guests Following the Colorado Shooting?
The owner of MJR Partridge Creek Digital Cinema said guests wearing masks or costumes will no longer be permitted into theaters, effective July 20.
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Responding to the tragic shooting Thursday at a movie theater in Colorado, the owner of MJR Theaters said patrons are no longer allowed to wear costumes or masks to movies, regardless of showtime.
Mike Mihalich told the Detroit News Friday that the new policy would become effective immediately.
The policy comes less than 24 hours after a 24-year-old gunman opened fire during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises in a movie theater near Denver, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more, according to a Detroit News report.
However, some Macomb Patch readers say they are unsure this policy could have any real impact on theater safety.
"I dont think wearing a costume made a difference," wrote Stephanie Szpytek on the Macomb Patch Facebook page. "I think we need to get back to a simpler time when there was morals..... and children and adults were held accountable for their actions...the world has become a dark place, we have adults and children idolizing someone like Tupac, when they should be finding their higher power and idolizing him..I call him God."
Kymberlee Parker-Young agrees.
"The gunman entered via the emergency exit(s) based on what is being reported. Banning costumes woud have done NOTHING to stop what happened," she wrote.
Vote in the poll or tell us in the comments below what you think about this new MJR policy.
Jenny Whalen
8:37 am on Saturday, July 21, 2012
If you've been a longtime follow of Macomb Patch, you know I have an obsession with Harry Potter. I always dressed up for midnight showings. I'm a bit sad that will no longer be an option, but then again, the series is over, so I'm not hugely affected by this. Still, I'm sad to see the actions of one who is unquestionably mentally unstable force us all to alter our lives.
ALinPHX
11:36 am on Saturday, July 21, 2012
This is another knee-jerk reaction. As mentioned in the story above, the shooter in this case was NOT wearing a costume while in line to enter the theater ... once he was inside he left through the emergency doors, put on his protective gear outside, then re-entered the theater through those same doors. Some sort of alarm or buzzer on the emergency doors would have been much more effective than any "no costume" rule.
Jennifer Szarejko
12:19 pm on Saturday, July 21, 2012
i don't see the need for costumes a movie, the lights are going to go out anyways, so whats the point?? and if it makes everyone else comfortable then ban them, dress up in your own home when it comes out on DVD...
Rob Mihalich
10:45 pm on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
In every report, patrons reported they thought the shooter was an actor doing a stunt because of the way he was dressed. If wearing a gas mask in a theater was seen as unusual, maybe a life could have been saved.