Matthew McConaughey Delivered an Emotional Speech for Gun Control at White House
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For actor Matthew McConaughey, the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas was personal: McConaughey was born and raised in the rural Texas town that is now in headlines worldwide, and his mom taught elementary school down the street from Robb Elementary.
The actor dropped everything to go be with his community, and is now working with the White House to advocate for meaningful gun control legislation.
"Uvalde called me on May 24th, when I learned the news of this devastating tragedy. I had been out of cellular range working in the studio all day when I emerged and messages about a mass shooting in the town I was born in began flooding my inbox," he recalled. "In a bit of shock, I drove home, hugged my children a bit tighter and longer than the night before, and then the reality of what had happened that day in the town I was born in set in."
McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, and their kids then spent the last week in Uvalde meeting with families of the victims. This kind of work is not new for the couple: They founded the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation in 2008, dedicated to helping students succeed.
"Being able to give back in ways is a selfish endeavor. It feels good to me to see a smile or hear a young person say thank you. That’s called a selfless act? I call it a selfish act," McConaughey told Town & Country.
Yet, the work he and Camila are doing surrounding the tragedy in Uvalde is anything but selfish. The celebrities brought the stories of the victims to the White House in a press briefing on Tuesday, using their platform to amplify the message.
"We spent most of last week on the ground with the families in Uvalde, Texas, and we shared stories, tears, and memories," McConaughey said. "The common thread, independent of the anger and the confusion and sadness, it was the same: How can these families continue to honor these deaths by keeping the dreams of these children and teachers alive? Again, how can the loss of these lives matter?"
He continued, "While we honor and acknowledge the victims, we need to recognize that this time it seems that something is different. There is a sense that perhaps there is a viable path forward. Responsible parties in this debate seem to at least be committed to sitting down and having a real conversation about a new and improved path forward — a path that can bring us closer together and make us safer as a country, a path that can actually get something done this time."
He spoke emotionally of the stories of some of the victims, including nine-year-old Maite Rodriguez, who "wore green high-top Converse with a heart she had hand-drawn on the right toe because they represented her love of nature." Those shoes, McConaughey continues, were the only evidence that could identify her after the massacre.
McConaughey then laid out a call to action for legislation:
We need to invest in mental healthcare. We need safer schools. We need to restrain sensationalized media coverage. We need to restore our family values. We need to restore our American values. And we need responsible gun ownership — responsible gun ownership. We need background checks. We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21. We need a waiting period for those rifles. We need red-flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them.These are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations to our nation, states, communities, schools, and homes. Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals.
Before his meeting, the actor met with President Joe Biden and lawmakers in Congress to discuss gun reform.
Watch Matthew McConaughey's full remarks here:
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