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Right next to that sign is another sticker, one with a gun(!) inside the circle, same line through it, and the words, "No Weapons Allowed."
Yikes. I mean, there you are, going to check out "Clifford III: Revenge of the Cats" and you’re faced with a sign asking patrons to please not bring their guns into the theater.
A little scary, no?
Not to mention it’s probably not very effective.
Think about it -- I’d say the type of person who routinely totes around guns, knives, and hand grenades probably wouldn’t be persuaded to lock their Glock in the glove box as a result of a little sticker reading, "No weapons."
As a result, my first reaction to all this was the following -- "What the hell?" So I called over to the Hamilton police to find out just how much weapons violence is going on over at the theater.
"In the last year, there have been no weapons violations at all," said Lt. Mike Kane. "In fact, there was only one ‘serious’ crime -- a strong-arm robbery where a couple of youths stole a cell phone."
OK. So the joint is safe. Why the sign? I went over to the theater to inquire.
"It’s from corporate," said the manager on duty.
Next stop, AMC corporate HQ in Kansas City.
"We have put ‘no weapons’ signs up in all of our theaters across America," said Melanie Bell, the vice president of corporate communications for AMC. "We believe the movie theater is a place for families, and so we’re asking people not to bring weapons inside."
The reason, Bell explained, is because the "overwhelming majority of states have concealed carry laws."
Meaning, many states make it easy enough to carry around a concealed weapon.
New Jersey is not one of them.
According to state law (Section 2C:58-4), getting a permit to carry a concealed weapon is easy: Simply write a letter to your local chief of police, get three people to vouch you’re not a lunatic, prove you know how to use a weapon, and presto! You’re shopping for bullets and ankle holsters.
But in reality, Section 2C:58-4 may as well include the following clause: "You must also prove the ability to carry on a conversation, in Thai, with no less than six (6) elephants."
In other words...
"It’s very hard to get a carry permit in New Jersey," Kane said. (Read: Just about impossible.)
Nevertheless, the well-meaning folks at AMC have -- due to their "uniform polices," as Bell states -- placed this scary-looking sign imploring you to leave your weapons in your car.
And please, no outside food.
Jeff Edelstein’s columns appear every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday. He can be reached at jedelstein@trentonian.com.
