Matthew McConaughey has spoken out following the devastating school shooting on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas, which is also the actor's hometown.
The 52-year old actor utilized Instagram to express his horror and sadness in an intense, lengthy statement.
"As all of you are aware,” he wrote, “there was another mass shooting today, this time in my hometown of Uvalde, Texas. Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us."
"The true call to action,” he continued, “is now for every American to take a longer and deeper look in the mirror and ask ourselves, 'What is it that we truly value? How do we repair the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to preserve a healthier and safer nation, state, and neighborhood tomorrow?' We cannot exhale once again, make excuses and accept these tragic realities as the status quo."
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The "Dallas Buyers Club” star insisted that we all need to finally find a common ground on which to change this senseless, increasingly frequent, and uniquely American reality.
"As Americans, Texans, mothers, and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate, and renegotiate our wants from our needs," McConaughey stated. "We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children's issue."
The tragedy unfolded on Tuesday, May 24, when an 18-year old gunman entered Robb Elementary School and slaughtered 19 children and two teachers, according to latest police reports.
Mincing no words, McConaughey labeled the recent plague of mass shootings “an epidemic,” but like other epidemics he hopes that it’s something we can, and must, control, lest more parents find out the morning goodbye to their kids was their last.
"This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we stand on, we all know we can do better,” said McConaughey. “We must do better. Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured."
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As Entertainment Tonight reported, McConaughey spent the first 16 years of his life in Uvalde. In 2020, he returned to the town for the centennial celebration of the Uvalde Area Chamber of Commerce, and brought his mother Kay and brother Rooster along for an hour-long Q&A event.
In fact, his mother, Kay, was a kindergarten teacher at St. Philip’s Episcopal School, where Matthew attended. That school is only four minutes down the road from Robb Elementary School.
The tragedy has quite literally hit home for the actor and his family, as their love for the town hasn’t wavered.
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