Colorado shooting: Security alarms sound beyond theater industry

“For the safety and security of our guests and associates,” it added, “we are actively working with local law enforcement in communities throughout the nation, and under the circumstances we are reaching out to all of our theaters to review our safety and security procedures.”

The statement continues, "being a safe place in the community for all our guests is a top priority at AMC, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

At the same time, local theater managers are loath to discuss actual security enhancements.

Management at the Pacific Theaters Five in Sherman Oaks referred questions to the corporate office, which did not answer calls. However, the staff at this popular neighborhood cineplex were unaware of any adjustments being made to security. “Nobody has said anything to us,” pointed out Miguel, selling popcorn behind the counter.

Parents, on the other hand, are making their own adjustments. Fourteen year-old Andy Newman says his mother nixed his plan to go to a midnight screening Friday because of the shootings. “She took me to a matinee instead and told me to call as soon as the movie was over,” he says.

“Americans have yet to understand the threats to their safety, and regard security as an intrusion into their privacy,” says Rachel Ehrenfeld, director of the American Center for Democracy, a New York-based research group.

“In Israel,” she says via e-mail, “well-trained security personnel monitor the entrance to every public building, even supermarkets, and public awareness has stopped many terror attacks and saved many lives.”

Younger Americans are already adjusting to the new normal, says April Masini, an online advice expert who specializes in youthful inquiries. She points to many high schools that have metal detectors to prevent weapons from being transported in backpacks onto campus. “With each act of violence, like the shooting in a Colorado movie theatre, the obvious need for more security becomes clearer,” she writes in an e-mail.

The cost of the security will get added to the ticket price at theatres or whatever venue requires additional security, she notes.

We all will foot the bill because of lone gunmen such as the one in Colorado, she points out, adding, “just like our kids can’t remember rotary dial telephones or children’s sneakers without Velcro, their kids won't be able to remember a time when they didn't have to check their backpacks and teenage purses at the door of the mall while they walk through a metal detector.”

Staff writer Daniel B. Wood contributed to this report from Los Angeles

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