Actor Matthew McConaughey delivered impassioned and at-times emotional remarks during the White House press briefing on Tuesday, telling stories of those who died in the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. He urged more action from the government to reduce gun deaths.
The Uvalde native actor, Matthew McConaughey, spent most of the past week with the families of those who were killed in his hometown. He showed pictures of their artwork and brought to the briefing room one green Converse shoe he found that was used to identify one girl’s body after she was shot. He told the stories of the 19 children and two teachers who were killed at Robb Elementary School last month to show that action needed to be taken.
McConaughey said, “You know what every one of these parents wanted, what they asked us for? That they want their children’s dreams to live on. That they want their children’s dreams to continue and accomplish something after they are gone. They want to make their loss of life matter,”
He suggested that there is a window of opportunity to enact meaningful gun legislation reform and called for universal background checks, raising the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 to 21, a waiting period for purchasing AR-15s and the implementation of red flags laws.
NRA Executive Director, Wayne LaPierre, in a speech on conservative gun regulation says, “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.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the Academy Award-winning actor briefly met with President Joe Biden before speaking at a podium.
McConaughey described the children and what they each were going to become before they were killed — one wanted to be a marine biologist, one had been preparing to read a Bible verse at church the next week, another wanted to go to art school in Paris.
He said. “You could feel the shock in the town. Everyone could feel the pain, anger, blame, sadness and loss of lives,”
McConaughey says that, due to the designs of AR-15 rifles, many mutilated bodies could only be identified by DNA or green converse. Many children were left dead, but hollow. So, yes, counselors will be needed for a long time in Uvalde.
“We need to take a sober, humble, and honest look in the mirror, and rebrand ourselves based on what we truly value. We need to get some real courage and honor our immortal obligations instead of our party affiliations,” McConaughey said.
He continued to say, “Enough with the counter-punches. Enough of the invalidation of other sides. Let’s come to the common table that represents American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most American live anyway. Especially on this issue. Because I promise you, America, we are not as divided as we are being told we are.”
McConaughey held meetings with lawmakers to discuss gun reform legislation earlier in the day.
The actor from “Dallas Buyers Club” talked about his political aspirations for Texas last year, but decided against a run for the governorship — for now.
Actor Matthew McConaughey spoke with reporters on Capitol Hill today. He left a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and was heading to another meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
The President met with Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut today. Murphy spoke about the ongoing gun reform negotiations at the White House for about half an hour, stressing how much he appreciated Biden and the White House giving senators “space” to try to make progress on their issues.
Though the odds are still very steep of any sweeping reforms, lawmakers expressed optimism that a deal for a narrow and targeted bill could be reached this week. Jean-Pierre said Tuesday, “Biden is encouraged by the Senate negotiations on gun control measures.”
President Obama spoke passionately about the mass shooting at a Uvada elementary school in an impassioned speech from the White House. He has called on Congress to implement stricter gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons, tougher background check laws and a higher minimum age of purchase.
