In an emotional speech at the White House on Tuesday, actor Matthew McConaughey called for new gun rules in the wake of last month’s mass shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, and urged federal lawmakers to respect their moral obligations rather than party affiliations. .
Through smoky eyes, McConaughey recalled his recent visit to Uvalde, where he and his wife met with the families of the victims, local law enforcement and the death penalty, who had to prepare some of the bodies of 19 school-aged children. who was shot and killed. 24 May.
He also recalled his younger years at Uvalde, where he said he learned what it meant to be a responsible gun owner and to respect the Second Amendment.
“We heard from so many people: families of the deceased, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, Texas Rangers, hunters, border patrol and responsible gun owners who will not give up their Second Amendment rights,” he said. “They all said, ‘We want safe and secure schools and we want gun laws that don’t make it so easy for bad guys to get these damn guns.
Actor Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, as well as a father and a gun owner, gets emotional as he talks to reporters about mass shootings in the United States, a young victim of a school shooting in Uvalde. hold a picture. During a press briefing at the White House on June 7, 2022 in Washington, US.
Kevin Lamarck | Reuters
McConaughey specifically called on US lawmakers to pass legislation setting the minimum age gun owners to purchase an assault rifle from 18 to 21, conducting background checks and establishing red flag provisions.
His White-House appearance came a day after the actor, best known for films such as “The Wedding Planner” and his Oscar-winning role in “Dallas Buyers Club,” starred in the film. An Op-Ed in The Austin American-Statesman Titled “It’s Time to Act on Gun Responsibility.”
In that op-ed, he pressed Congress to appreciate the distinction between gun “control” and “responsibility” in the wake of a gruesome mass shooting in May that killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas Where McConaughey was born.
“I believe that responsible, law-abiding Americans have the Second Amendment right, enshrined by our founders to bear arms. I also believe the senseless murder of our children We have a cultural obligation to take steps to slow it down.”
“There is no constitutional impediment to gun responsibility,” McConaughey continued. “Keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people is not only the responsible thing to do, it’s the best way to protect the Second Amendment. We can do both.”
Biden administration calls on Congress To pass gun control measures in the wake of two high-profile mass shootings last month: the elementary school murder in Uvalde and a separate, racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York that killed 10 people.
The president met with Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut’s leading bipartisan gun-control negotiator, to discuss the latest debate on Capitol Hill.
Murphy, perhaps the chamber’s biggest advocate for stricter gun laws, is working with Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn on efforts to improve school safety, strengthen background checks, and introduce red flag laws that would protect families. Allows the court to confiscate guns from a suspect. posing a threat to public health.
