A documentary film entitled Fish Out of Water will be shown Tuesday, September 21 followed by a talk on Sunday, September 26 by Dr. Bill McConkey, an activist who legally challenged Wisconsin’s recent amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Fish Out of Water is filmmaker Ky Dicken’s personal journey, an assemblage of footage from the first legal gay marriage in Boston, shots from Proposition 8 rallies, the Obama election and animated sequences illustrating Bible verses. Her own narrative also includes interview commentary from gays and lesbians, ministers, preachers and historians who all want to share their vision of the truth about religion and gays with others in the film who openly discuss their discontent for the LGBT community.
The film explores the seven Bible passages notoriously used to condemn homosexuality and justify marriage discrimination in order to make this polarizing subject accessible and non-threatening. It will be screened in Ephraim on Tuesday, September 21 at 7 pm for free, by the Unitarian Fellowship of Door County at part of their Movies That Matter series.
On the following Sunday, Dr. Bill McConkey’s will address, New Laws: Big Ones and Little Ones, providing a detailed look at the war on “God’s gay and lesbian children.” He was the plaintiff in McConkey v. Van Hollan, a legal effort to overturn Wisconsin’s Amendment discriminating against lesbian and gays and all single couples. The case went to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He lost but his fight continues.
“Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, The US Constitution, The US Supreme Court, and enter stage right, the Neo-Con Right who teach hatred for votes, to fill pews and make tons of money. The human infant hates no one,” says McConkey. “It is taught to hate, all through its life. The teaching of hatred must stop. If not now, when? If not you, who?”
Dr. McConkey, Political Science Professor at UW-Oshkosh, is an educator and social activist and the author of “Fighting the Merchants of Hate: The War for America’s Soul.” He has worked for several government agencies, including the Executive Office of the President of the United States, the Florida Senate’s Committee on Higher Education, and for the Governors of Illinois and Alaska.
Both events will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door County (UUFDC) located at 10341 Hwy. 42, Ephraim. Fish Out of Water will be shown September 21 at 7 pm. Dr. McConkey will speak September 26 at 10 am. The public is invited to both events.
