ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Try to Let the Shows Go On

The owners of the Celebrity Theatre in Anaheim--scene of an unfortunate shooting last week outside the theater at a sold-out show featuring rap entertainers--have taken the right first step.

They have promised the city to carefully screen performers in an attempt to avoid incidents in the future such as the one last Thursday night that left a youth with a gunshot wound in the abdomen.

The circumstances of the shooting have been unclear for several days, but city officials have understandably been concerned about repeat incidents. The theater’s pledge should send a welcome and calming signal.

Theater managers have latitude in the entertainment acts they select; they can weed out those that are combative or that glorify gang life.

And the city can do its part by demanding that security be adequate for all entertainment events within the city, not just at rap concerts. It also can insist that promoters adequately control crowd flow.

But it would be an overreaction to impose some of the more drastic suggestions that have been floated since the shooting.

Although the City Council has not taken definite action, Mayor Fred Hunter and other council members have talked about pulling the theater’s beer and wine license and even banning rap performances altogether. At this point, both measures seem like a rather needless over-reaction.

It’s worth remembering that Anaheim prides itself on providing all sorts of entertainment for all kinds of audiences--so much so that it is actively seeking to further its standing as an entertainment center with plans to build an indoor arena. Moreover, Anaheim has hosted previous rap concerts that have gone off without a hitch.

The city always can take further action if trouble continues. But for now, it would be a mistake to punish law-abiding concert-goers in haste.