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Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey visited the White House for a meeting with President Joe Biden to discuss some of the gun control measures currently being considered in Washington after the mass shooting in his hometown. Following the meeting, McConaughey made a speech to reporters in the White House Briefing Room.
Despite the lack of legislative action after previous mass shootings, McConaughey believes lawmakers will be able to find common ground on policies to keep kids safe.
"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 real conversation about a new and improved path forward," McConaughey said.
Texas Senator John Cornyn, a Republican, has been leading bipartisan talks with Democrats in the U.S. Senate to discuss legislative measures to improve school safety. President Biden also met with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
McConaughey visited Uvalde immediately after the mass shooting on May 24th that killed 21 people. He met with relatives of several of the victims.
"A lifetime is not going to heal those wounds," McConaughey said. "What every parent separately expressed in their own way...they want their children's dreams to live on. They want to make their loss of life matter. We heard from so many people - families of the deceased, Texas Rangers, hunters, Border Patrol, and responsible gun owners who won't give up their Second Amendment right to bear arms. What they all said was, 'we want secure and safe schools and we want gun laws that won't make it so easy for the bad guys to get these damn guns'."
McConaughey noted that he personally supported the right to bear arms, but also supported some restrictions to reduce the possibility of more mass shootings in the future.
"Uvalde is where I learned to master a Daisy BB gun. That took two years before I graduated to a .410 shotgun. Uvalde is where I was taught to revere the power and the capability of the tool that we call a gun. Uvalde is where I learned responsible gun ownership," McConaughey said.
"We need background checks. We need to raise the minimum raise 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," McConaughey said. "We got a chance right now to reach for and grasp a higher ground above our political affiliations. We can't truly be leaders if we're only living for re-election. Lead with humility and acknowledge the values that are inherent to but also above politics."
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