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Jonathan Castner / AFP - Getty Images file
The scene in front of the Aurora, Colo., theater on July 20 where a gunman opened fire during the opening of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises."
Calling it a “disgusting offer” and a “thinly veiled publicity ploy,” some victims’ families of the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre are outraged that the movie house chain's owner would invite them to a special event marking the reopening of the place where 12 movie-goers were killed and 58 wounded.
Cinemark CEO Tim Warner offered free tickets to an event Jan. 17 for the reconfigured Aurora Century Theatre, according to an invitation letter sent to Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan and obtained by NBC News. Warner also points out the community had requested the theater's restoration.
In addition, victims and their families were told special arrangements could be made for them to visit before the reopening, on Jan. 15 and 16.
According to the Denver Post, an email invitation was also sent through the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance. It said that counselors would be available at the event.
In response, a group of families fired back a letter of their own, blasting the invitation and saying they would urge a boycott of the event on social media.
“This disgusting offer that you’d 'like to invite you and a guest to a special evening of remembrance on Thursday, January 17 at 5 PM' followed by the showing of a movie and then telling us to be sure 'to reserve our tickets' is wholly offensive to the memory of our loved ones.”
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The letter says Cinemark had not reached out to families before the invitation.
"None of us received a letter of condolence or any other communication from Cinemark, but now they want us to step foot in that theater," Sandy Phillips, mother of Jessica Ghawi, told The Denver Post. Ghawi was one of the people fatally shot during the sold-out midnight showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" on July 20.
“We, the families, recognize your thinly veiled publicity ploy for what it is: A great opportunity for you to distance yourselves and divert public scrutiny from your culpability in this massacre,” the letter states.
Court date set for Colorado theater shooting suspect's biggest hearing yet
A survey conducted this summer by the city of Aurora found the majority of residents in favor of having the theater reopened, the Post reported. It was remade into an XD theater with wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor screen.
Several victims’ families have sued Cinemark USA, alleging improper security at the theater on the night of the massacre.
A spokeswoman for Cinemark told NBC News the theater would have no immediate comment on the boycott.
James Holmes, a 25-year-old former neuroscience graduate student, is charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder in the shootings. On Wednesday prosecutors said they would make public evidence in the case for the first time in a hearing next week.
At previous hearings, a defense lawyer has said Holmes suffered from an unspecified mental illness.
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Leave a Comment:
The theater has a right to reopen and do business, but to invite those people was just plain dumb. What were they thinking?
Nothing they do or don't do will be all right. Give everyone a break.
geeze, how compasionate do you expect a company who charges 10 bucks for popcorn to be?
Go or don't go. Responding publicly to the media tells me you have no emotional maturity. Blaming the theatre or the police and attempting to "sue" somebody tells me you are self serving and greedy.
"Self serving and greedy?" Have you ever been through such a horror? I think not! These people are hurt and angry. It is very understanding that they need to blame someone. Of course, this is not the theater's fault. Never before has anyone expected that going to a movie requires armed guards. Perhaps now, we must do that - in our theaters, malls, and schools. But, at that time, no such thing had ever occurred.
But, let's be fair to the families and not call them "self serving and greedy."
"Hurt and angry".........and some of the theater's insurance company's money will, of course, heal the pain and manage the anger. (And I'm NO fan of insurance companies.)
Didn't say they should sue. Re-read my post. No one's fault except the madman shooter. I just think some compassion for the families should be shown to them, by not calling them "self serving and greedy".
Nah, he's right. Self serving and greedy is perfect. Fool.
See clipping below...no different than Colorado except that more people were killed...equally horrifc for each of the families affected by that tragedy. The theater was trying to reach out, be respectful and honor the victims in this event but also trying to pickup and move on which needs to happen.
Official World Trade Center Site Memorial Ceremony and Remembrance 2012
The official New York City observance of the eleventh anniversary of September 11 will take place at the World Trade Center site on the morning of Tuesday, September 11th, 2012. As always, four moments of silence will be observed to commemorate the times when each plane hit and each tower fell, starting at 8:46 a.m.
Family members of those who perished in the attacks are invited to attend the ceremony and call the New York City Mayor's office at 212-442-8953 for more information.
Blame the Gun. Blame the manufacturer of the Gun. Blame the NRA. Blame the members of the NRA. Now Blame the theatre owners. Exactly when do we blame the guy who actually pulled the trigger and committed the crime?
It is amazing to me that I live within the confines of the Laws of this nation. I have never shot anyone. I have no desire to shoot anyone. I don't wave my firearms around intimidating people. When I carry concealed I do exactly that, carry it hidden and concealed. I wish no ill will on anyone. I would willingly do my best to defend someone who is anti gun from someone who would do them harm. All this being said It is amazing to me that so many of you ass u me that I am some nut job whos compensating for something, abusive, wants to kill other people and is a menace to society for doing nothing more than legally owning firearms.
We should blame the guns. If he had to cock the guns before each shot he couldn't have shot nearly as many.
Would people still have died? Would 10 people dead be any less tragic than 12? Or 8 Dead? or 6?
I absolutely consider myself a liberal but I do support the right to keep and bear arms. How about that all you that subscribe to your stereotypes. So shut up. As for this story, the theater owners are trying to respond to the community's desire to keep the theater open. You can't fault them for that. They are in a no win situation, if they ignore the families, they would be criticized for that. They invite the families to attend and are faulted still. Misplaced anger out of grief is very common. There is no solution that will accommodate everyone.
Most people in this country support our second amendment. It is the assault weapons that are in questions. No one is trying to ban guns.
Yet.
The only sad thing here is how too many people today are too easilly offended.
Nazi concentration camps and the Hiroshima bombing site are now tourist attractions. Why should this particular location of a massacre be any different?
Are you kidding me?
Obviously, my heart hurts for all the people who were injured and killed on that awful night at the movie theater. Also, for their families. No question about that at all.
I also understand that the families want to lash out at someone. The only one to blame for this horror and nightmare is the shooter. The crazy, mental mess of a person who could do such a thing.
It isn't fair to blame the theater. I have never gone to a theater and expected to see armed guards there. We never had armed guards at schools either. It appears that times are changing in a really awful way. We have guns available to crazy people. We need to be protected everywhere we go now. America used to be one place in the world where you could freely go about your business. Now, we are like a 3rd world country. Why? because America has a love affair with guns. My heart breaks for what our world has become.
Again, I am so sad for the families. I understand their unbearable pain and unbearable anger. It wasn't fair, it shouldn't have happened, but the theater cannot be held responsible for a madman.
My condolences and sympathies to all the families. I couldn't be more sorry that this happened in your life and you lost your loved ones. There is no answer. There was no reason. They went to a movie and walked into a war zone. Somehow, you all must resolve that this was one madman's fault - no one else did this. Nothing the theater can do will satisfy you. Nothing anyone can do will satisfy you. Blame really won't fix you either. I wish it could fix you. I wish this horror never happened, as I wish the horror from a madman didn't occur at Sandy Hook.
Do some reading and investigation...yes we have violence in our country but look at murder rate per capita to put it perspective....we're not even in the top 20. There are alot of ways to kill someone...ultimately it takes another person to do it no matter their preferred method of doing so. Blaming guns isn't going to fix it
I didn't blame guns. I blamed madmen having access to guns. America has a love affair with guns - great! Anyone who owns or sells guns has the responsibility to keep madmen away from them! Obviously, they cannot do that. So, then, I think we should at least get rid of these semi-automatic guns with huge magazines of bullets. Only the police, military, or a madman would have use for that type of weapon.
Ask the insane or criminals to kindly turn in their guns and please, pretty please not to use them again....that's basically what gun control that you're suggesting accomplishes...meanwhile law abiding citizens either become criminals due to over zealous government and media led bunch of sheep or they give up their guns and become sheep too!
I am suggesting that gun owners take responsibility for who might be able to have access to your guns.
I am not against responsible gun ownership. I don't, however feel a gun or twelve in every home should be the way Americans live. So sue me, Mr. Guns Galore! Mr. everyone who doesn't have a pile of guns is a sheep!
on a different not, i need holmes lawyers to contact me, i met him in cruces and can explain the voices he heard
if he wasnt in cruces dont bother, im crazy, but if he was...
i called him bill the cat and they tried to get the 2 phsycos to hang out while they tortured
so much to say, goddam aur police prob didnt even give you the message
Anyone know how to report summs100? This guy needs a visit from the police.
i agree make a big deal please, i have no fear just massive impatience
like i said ray shultz albq police plz
i will have my day in court, thankfully i have chosen to troll not murder
here did holmes go before CO
was there a threat assessment team there on him
he went to nmsu
his friends were in lulzsec and introduced me to him(wierd)
i bet he hears voices like a high statistical amount of people in las cruces do
here it is
suzana martinez covered up abuse that a annonymous splinter group lulzsec did because it was so horrendous,
they charged the kids with hacking charges instead
she did this because she wanted reefer madness videos to stop the legalization of pot and used the (TAT's)
whose friends were in lulzsec
1 problem, 58 maimed people
prof wurm, aka the jester, gave the students the code to hack as his army using the schools engr.depts and students as cover
enjoy reality
ps wurm was in the last release lulzsec did (booze allen affair as a threat)
hector x mont was in cruces and was introduced to me like the godfather with people afterwards making comments that i should forget his name,
and the FBI didnt know he ever went there
so ive been in contact with aurora police
49 arrests in southern nm, fbi says they had guns and electronic equipment
i begged for them to listen for years
thats why
my heart used to race when i would post that,, but ive done it so many times
Let's see, we can arm the cashiers at the super market because maybe some fruit cake will come in and shoot all the cantalopes. Come on people, the theater is just a theater. If you want to sue someone, sue the sobs that made the guns, they are responsible. Sue the guys that made the bullets. But you can't sue the state for being there or the country for not providing guards for everyone or the people that made the mall for not providing magnets that attracted guns. Good grief, sh*t happens and it just happened to happen at a movie theater. Suck it up and get on with your lifes, without trying to get a bunch of money from everyone.
How is it the gun manufacturer's fault or the ammo manufacturer's fault....and why is about suing someone? Cars kill many more people in this country every year...so ban cars and sue the car manufacturers every time someone drives recklessly or even if it's a mere accident.
guess the lawyers didn't get their cash payment before the theater opened, to friggin bad. no one in their right mind can believe they did anything wrong in the first play, and what good is it to leave the play empty forever ?
Ok i understand that happen there. but @!$%# move on already. we can Bicker about guns and bla bla but if you don't move on what the **** are you living for? tp be sad and cry the rest of your life.? if we did that Nothing would advance to being better or get past anything. we wouldn't be where we are now if we don't just understand what happen and move on and hope it can be solved later. i'd go to the movies. wouldn't stop me.
The theater did the right thing. If they were overly apologetic the attorneys for the families would try and call it an admission of guilt in the lawsuits.
Yes, the reopening is tacky, especially not notifying the families before the invitations were sent to the public. But the theater doesn't have any culpability for what happened. The famlies can't expect the theater to close down forever over what happened. The theater could just open for business again without making it an event.
No, it wasn't "tacky," and it wasn't so for the very next sentence of your post.
how many time you had the chief of polic in your house trying to figure out why i was sent to the asylum 3 times
its real, its now, i can survive because im all in and know what is about to happen
i mean its either prison, risperidone forced assisted suicide, or freedom at this point
wow. However well intentioned, this is a big time PR fiasco.
I think perhaps a silent opening would have been more appropriate. The locals who would attend will know it's opened, no need for an 'event.' And more subtle and respectful advertising would have been better, such as flyers and small ads in papers somehow acknowledging the victims and finding a way to say that the reopening is a stand against violence.
I live only a few miles from this place. This is the first I've heard of any of this. Maybe the media blew it out of proportion. Gee - that NEVER happens.
hell of a place to post sorry
Since when is a ... required to provide security..
I have been going to THAT theater for over 20 years and cannot remember a single weekend or Friday night where there was not a very visible presence from Aurora PD. Shame on Cinemark for getting cheap and not paying for the needed security. It's not the responsibility of the local PD to fund security for a private engagement. It IS the responsibility of the venue..PERIOD. I and my family will never set foot in that facility ever again. Tear it down, admit your culpability, walk away Cinemark.. Cinemark didn't do this but they own it!
Or perhaps the victims' families and their attorneys should have been allowed to form committees to debate the timing and procedures for the reopening. Maybe even allowed them to demand the other businesses nearby, out of respect for their suffering, curtail their business hours so the families can better cope. Perhaps a ban on any future potentially emotionally troubling movies might be in store. Of course, there are many such families, each with differing thresholds of sensitivity, so it might take several weeks, months, or even years to thrash all of this out. Since some of the victims were probably eating popcorn, maybe, out of concern for the victims' families, popcorn sales should be banned.
At some point, enough is enough. That point is here, now.
so sad, i told them years ago but no one listened
some kids figured out the second u say u hear voices they dont listen to anything else, and that turns the lulzsec kids on more
REALITY SORRY
Gosh! Free movie tickets?
That really makes everything better.
Gee whiz, thanks!
Yeah, money from the insurance company for the theater is actually necessary for the healing process to be complete.
Gee whiz, thanks!
The theater is in a no win situation. If they didn't reach out to the families, they would be called insensitive. If they do, they are insensitive. And if they had reached out to families prior to the reopening, I'm sure some money hungry victims would have used it in a lawsuit against them. As much as I feel for the victims and their families, they did receive a lot of attention, financial assistance, and even medical care for free from this tragedy. How many other people are killed or harmed every day by preventable murders (drunk drivers come immediately to mind) and get no outpouring of sympathy, money or attention. They don't close down the road where drunk driving accidents happen. Life goes on. If you don't care to enter the theater or are not ready yet, politely decline the invitation.
It's genius's like this that make others go postal. How about baloons and champagn? Gun control? Idiot control would be a hell of a lot productive.
I agree with the owner reopening his theater. This is not a matter of disrespect to the family, it is a matter of staying in business - create jobs, produce revenue, make a living, providing a means to support his family and the families of his employees. If we are to enshrine every venue where a murder took place, we would have no where to go. Murder is murder, be it with a gun or other tools that take lives. We can't and shouldn't sweep it under the run, but we also can't keep building shrines and putting people out of business. Case in point, you drive down a road and see a memorial of someone who died there, either by a vehicle or someone shot them. You don't close the road and cite it as a memorial for the deceased - you move on. What's next, you close down the subway system because some got pushed to their death again? As an alternative, maybe the owner can tear down the theater and rebuild in another location of the city. That would probably appease the city. The school district of Newtown is not going to allow those young, traumatized children return to Shady Hook. They will simply build another school, which is the right thing to do. The theater owner should do the same thing, if he is financially able to do so...not shut down completely.
Since when is a ... required to provide security..
I have been going to THAT theater for over 20 years and cannot remember a single weekend or Friday night where there was not a very visible presence from Aurora PD. Shame on Cinemark for getting cheap and not paying for the needed security. It's not the responsibility of the local PD to fund security for a private engagement. It IS the responsibility of the venue..PERIOD. I and my family will never set foot in that facility ever again. Tear it down, admit your culpability, walk away Cinemark.. Cinemark didn't do this but they own it!
Next the families of Highway accidents will think its disgusting to allow people to use that portion of the highway?!!
Since when is a ... required to provide security..
I have been going to THAT theater for over 20 years and cannot remember a single weekend or Friday night where there was not a very visible presence from Aurora PD. Shame on Cinemark for getting cheap and not paying for the needed security. It's not the responsibility of the local PD to fund security for a private engagement. It IS the responsibility of the venue..PERIOD. I and my family will never set foot in that facility ever again. Tear it down, admit your culpability, walk away Cinemark.. Cinemark didn't do this but they own it!
Restaurants = responsible for their sucurity
Bars = responsible for their sucurity
Banks = responsible for their sucurity
keep the game on..
How many bars and restaurants have you seen with armed guards, just in case some psycho walks in and opens fire with a semi-automatic, huge magazine gun?
Get real!
Wow. There are some super-offensive comments on here. I, too, do not see any problem in the theatre re-opening. I DO see a problem in them making a big thing out of it. It should not be any kind of celebration, for God's sake. Just open. Don't be inviting anyone to anything "special"! And for this to be the very first time they reached out to the victim's families? So sad...
They tried in the way they thought appropriate to honor those killed and to continue on...just like in NY inviting the families to a dedication of the memorial.......you can't please everyone so you try to do what you believe is right and fair and move on....I think that's what the theater owners are doing...tough situation....
They could bankrupt themselves giving the families money and not reopening the theater and the families still wouldn't be happy and still wouldn't bring their loved ones back....sorry for their loss and I hope God brings them peace