The Armor of Light

Premiered May 10, 2016

Directed by

Abigail E. Disney and Kathleen Hughes

An Evangelical minister and the mother of a teenage shooting victim question whether one can be pro-gun and pro-life.

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About the Documentary

The Armor of Light follows the journey of Evangelical minister Rob Schenck, who is trying to find the courage to preach about the growing toll of gun violence in America, and Lucy McBath, the mother of an unarmed teenager who was murdered in Florida and whose story cast a spotlight on the state’s “Stand Your Ground” laws.

Reverend Schenck, a well-known anti-abortion activist and long-time fixture on the political far right, breaks with orthodoxy by questioning whether being pro-gun is consistent with being pro-life. In a series of uneasy conversations, Rev. Schenck is perplexed by the reactions of his friends and colleagues, most of whom are gun owners and adamant defenders of the 2nd Amendment, and who warn him away from this complex, politically explosive issue. Along the way, he meets Lucy McBath, also an Evangelical Christian, who decides to work with him. Lucy is on a difficult journey of her own, trying to make sense of the devastating loss of her murdered son, while using her grief to effect some kind of viable and effective political action where so many before her have failed.

The Armor of Light follows these allies through their trials of conscience, heartbreak, and rejection, as they bravely attempt to make others consider America’s gun culture through a moral lens. The film is also a glimpse at America’s fractured political culture while demonstrating that it is, indeed, possible for people to come together across deep party lines to find common ground.

The Filmmakers

Abigail E. Disney is an award-winning filmmaker, philanthropist, and the CEO and president of Fork Films. An active supporter of peacebuilding, she is passionate about advancing women’s roles in the public sphere. Disney’s films and series focus on social issues, spotlighting extraordinary people who speak truth to power. Having grown up in a family of filmmakers, Disney turned to documentaries in 2008, inspired to tell the story of a brave group of women who used nonviolent protests and sex strikes to bring an end to Liberia’s long civil war. That film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, won best documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008, and screened in 60 countries around the world on all seven continents. She next worked on the five-part PBS special series, Women, War & Peace, which aired in 2011 and was the winner of the Overseas Press Club’s Edward R. Murrow Award, a Gracie Award, and a Television Academy Honor. Disney founded Peace is Loud, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting and spotlighting women who are stepping up for peace and resisting violence in their communities. Disney has also executive-produced films on a wide array of social issues, including 1971, Family Affair, Citizen Koch, Hot Girls Wanted, Academy Award-nominated The Invisible War (Independent Lens), Return, and Sun Come Up (Academy Award-nominated for Documentary Short).

Kathleen Hughes is a producer, director, and writer, as well as co-founder of the documentary film company Okapi Productions. Among her many films is Two American Families, a 21-year-long look at downward mobility, which recently appeared on PBS’s FRONTLINE. Her 90-minute Bill Moyers special Buying the War, detailing the media’s failure to examine the Bush Administration’s case for invading Iraq, was called “one of the most gripping and important pieces of broadcast journalism this year” by The Washington Post. From 2008-11 Kathleen was Executive Producer of public television’s multi-platform series Blueprint America, which told stories about America’s crumbling infrastructure. Hughes' other work has appeared on PBS’s NOW and Wide Angle, NBC’s TV Nation and ABC News’ Turning Point, as well as many Bill Moyers specials. Her work has received two national Emmys, a New York Emmy, the duPont-Columbia Gold Baton, the Gracie Award, the Sidney Hillman Prize, the Dateline Club’s Society of Professional Journalists’ First Amendment Award, the Harry Chapin Media Award, the Christopher Award, and honorable mention for the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

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