Really! They said so!
It started last Friday when I e-mailed REG to ask about their firearms policy. The front doors of the local theater weren't posted, and there was nothing on their website prohibiting firearms (but their "
no outside food or drink" rules were quite clear). However, after standing in line for tickets, I saw the old handgun silhouette with the circle/slash up on their ticket window. I emailed them asking what their policy was, and if it was a "no gun zone" to please make it a little more apparent by posting the main entrance doors and state their policy on their website.
This morning I received the following:
August 08, 2012
Dear Ms. R.:
Thank you for taking the time to communicate your concerns regarding our facility security policies. Please understand that Regal Entertainment Group, with the assistance of safety experts and law enforcement personnel, has developed policies and procedures designed to provide the safest environment for our guests and employees. Rest assured these policies and procedures are not designed with the intent to inconvenience or otherwise cause hardship to our guests. However, we believe these policies appropriate to assure the general safety of all guests and employees.
Please note all law enforcement officers, whether on or off duty, are exempt from our gun prohibition policy in the theatre, as long as they identify themselves as such either by display of a badge or other identification upon request.
Again, thank you for taking the time to advise us of your concerns.
Sincerely,
Customer Relations Department
Operational Services
Regal Entertainment Group
So after much deletion of sarcasm ( I didn't say I got it it all ...), I replied with:
So you are saying that Regal Entertainment Group can assure my safety under any conditions within your theaters? Boy, I bet that CineMark had thought of that! Think of all the lives that would have been saved.
I find it unlikely that a bad guy intent on causing damage will obey your "no guns" sign any more than people intent on sneaking in their own candy will follow your "no outside food or drink" rule. The difference being that somebody with a contraband box Skittles isn't likely to cause me any harm. But then, neither is a Concealed Handgun Permit Holder. Please understand that as a Virginia CHP Holder, I have no felony or domestic violence convictions, no mental defects or disabilities, I have passed a criminal background check, and I am trained in the safe and proper use of my pistol.
The bad guys you need to worry about are the ones that ignore rules. (That's probably why they're considered "bad guys".) Not just your paper sign, but the rules of society. Surely any reasonable person can understand that someone who is willing to break the law to harm others isn't going to be stopped by a piece of paper. Even my 6-year-old understands that concept.
Please reconsider your "no firearms" policy. Until then, I will be taking my business elsewhere and asking my friends to do the same. I understand that even using social media, that's not going to be a drop in the bucket to REG. But to those of us who like to keep ourselves and our families safe, it's important.
Sincerely,
Nancy R.
P.S. You never did address my original message which had little to do with your handgun policy, but rather with posting the front door and the corporate web site instead of hiding your "no guns" sign back on the ticket booth where it couldn't be seen until one had stood in line to buy their tickets.
