THE STAGE 32 LOGLINES

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MY LIBERTY

MY LIBERTY
By Tom Stohlgren

GENRE: Thriller, Drama
LOGLINE:

When thoughts and prayers aren't enough, a Joan of Arc-like teen and her fellow school mass-shooting survivors kidnap a judge, lawyer, and teacher to prevent the next mass shooting and protect a nation from itself.

SYNOPSIS:

GWEN ANTONELLI (19), a powerful but frustrated history major survived a school shooting two years ago in Florida and became an outspoken advocate and media darling for gun control. Now, ignored and forgotten, she rallies a team of "survivors" (19-yr-olds) in a last-ditch effort to be heard. They each survived a school-shooting: YU YAN, an Asian woman; JOSEPH, a Native American male; LEVI, a white Amish male; and ROSA, a Mexican woman. The team kidnaps a social studies teacher, Mr. DAN BELLINGHAM (40s), who has been "red-flagged" as a potential mass shooter by a former bullied student, MILES UNGSTRUM (19).

Having lured JUDGE REGGIE WILSON (60s) and attorney, ELLIE R. MARTINEZ (40), to a workshop on school gun safety, the basement of Mr. Bellingham's school becomes a makeshift courtroom for the trial of the century. The judge, attorney, and teacher are handcuffed and chained to metal chairs, and punished with a stun gun in Gwen’s hands. Nothing short of a bullet will stop her. The horror is psychological rather than physical.

Gwen acts as a prosecuting attorney, with Miles as her only witness, as they produce evidence that Mr. Bellingham is not the self-proclaimed "good guy with a gun" he imagines. They prove, over the objections of his defense attorney (Ellie) and the protesting Judge, that Mr. Bellingham's concealed carry permit has been revoked. However, that didn't stop him from stockpiling weapons at home, including an AR-15 and twenty other firearms. The "survivors" serve as a biased jury, and the trial continues with electric shocks administered by Gwen for untruthful or incomplete answers. At issue is whether all students' inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, have been infringed upon by the Second Amendment.

The teens realize that they are breaking the law with kidnapping, false imprisonment, and torture, just as the Sons of Liberty broke laws, but it's to prevent another mass shooting at the hands of the psychologically disturbed Mr. Bellingham. The trial progresses poorly for the prosecution, despite evidence that Mr. Bellingham is breaking some laws and skirting others. In the end, the captives are freed, and the police and FBC Newscaster KERRY BRIGGS (30s; a gun supporter) are notified.

Before the teens are taken into custody, Mr. Bellingham returns to exact revenge with his AR-15 and two pistols. The police are not far behind, but Gwen is killed, and Kerry and two teens are wounded by Mr. Bellingham. Despite a doctored video of the night's activities going viral on the Internet, the newscaster paints the teens as domestic terrorists. The Judge and Ellie, torn by the night's events, now advocate for the teens. Before this page in history turns, their story inspires a generation into massive non-violent protests. The audience cries and cheers for Gwen!

MY LIBERTY

View screenplay
Nathaniel Baker

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