"On a related note-I had a man in my theater one time who was emitting a strong odor. The man was old and shabby, perhaps not homeless, but a sad sight just the same. Some women who were sitting next to him complained about the odor and were demanding that the man either be asked to leave or move away from them. "
"This man can NOT be asked to leave or move. He has every right to the seat he paid for. The women, on the other hand, could be moved as there were plenty of vacant seats. They made the entire thing a difficult ordeal including yelling. They wanted to stay in their seats. In order to quiet the women, they were eventually offered tickets to another performance."
You are confusing public relations and the law, which never go hand-in-hand. In the above situation you described, you had every right to remove the offending patron from the premises. He has absolutely no protected right to emitt a strong odor. The women who were offended had every right to ask that you re-locate him. Most business require a certain decorum for their customers...theme parks, including Disney, don't allow shirts with vulgarities on them; restaurants require diners to have shirts, shoes and pants (some restaurants require jackets for men). So if a theatre kicks out a smelly old man, then they are completely in the right. The fact that you accomadated the women wasn't nice...it was required. They weren't the ones in the wrong, even when they made a scene because you were wrong (at least legally speaking). "
I wasn't confusing anything, since, when confronted with the problem, I checked with my superiors (theater owners) before acting upon it, and I followed their instructions.
thanks for the info, though.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES