On April 9, 2019, this petition was launched. Why was it launched? It was started because of the realization that opposition by theaters to offering open captions (subtitles) would persist unless there was convincing evidence of the depth of support for open captions.
This evidence would theoretically improve the chances of legislation to require open captions alongside closed captioning, passing despite strong opposition from the National Association of Theatre Owners. Over the past 2 years, only Hawaii (June 26, 2019) has succeeded in passing legislation to mandate open captions. No state on the United States mainland has been successful yet.
Why do we need legislation? We need legislation because relying on voluntarily offered open captioned screenings does not work. Theaters often schedule open caption screenings at less desirable times. Volunteers that set up open caption screenings and publicize their availability become burned out from the burden.
Open caption supporters in these states have already tried to pass legislation but have not succeeded. In addition, the pandemic resulted in several bills being unable to move forward:
- Colorado
- Maryland
- Nebraska
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington, DC
- West Virginia
Over the past 2 years, this petition has gone from one signature to almost 20,000 signatures. This has happened despite little to no media coverage and no celebrity support. Signatures have come in from all over the United States and across the world!
Even during the pandemic, this petition continued to grow. About 4,000 of you signed during the pandemic from March 2020 to March 2021.
It is clear that you want and prefer open captions in movie theaters! Every time someone signs this petition, that becomes louder and clearer to the theater industry.
And now we have the support of Colorado state Senator Joann Ginal. Legislators across the nation are paying attention to how many people are signing in their represented areas! Your signatures ARE making a difference!
Keep spreading the word about this petition and educating everyone about the benefits of open captions – https://tinyurl.com/ocmoviesnow!