The passionate insanity that is sparked by the mere mention of “gun control” now includes an irrational argument that can only be described as nonsensical.
The mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX that killed 19 young students and 2 teachers has elevated the debate over gun control in America to a fever pitch. Beloved, award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey was born in Uvalde; and the school shooting was very personal to him.
McConaughey, a proud gun owner, is far from the collective of liberal actors who dominate Hollywood; but many right-wing conservatives have condemned the actor for his personal plea to raise the legal age for buying an AR-15 from 18 to 21 and for promoting ways to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental health issues that make them unworthy of owning a gun.
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In a 22-minute speech from the White House Briefing Room, McConaughey called on Republicans and Democrats to “reach a higher ground” and pass stricter gun control legislation. McConaughey shared his conversation with the mortician as to the reconstruction that had to be done for the funeral of some of the children because of the physical damage caused to the bodies and heads of the children shot and killed with an AR-15. In one case, the back of a child’s head had to be reconstructed because of the massive damage caused by the blast of the AR-15.
The left is guilty of promoting gun control; and some promote the removal of guns from society, which as we know is an impossibility. The right is guilty of rejecting any aspect of gun reform declaring that it’s really gun control that defies the Second Amendment.
Both sides are wrong, and both sides wage serious debates about guns in America in the aftermath of every mass shooting. It’s as predictable as the Sun rising in the east.
But new criticism of Matthew McConaughey’s support of reforming some laws concerning the sale and ownership of guns has reached a new irrational low. To discredit McConaughey, critics of the actor took to social media to discredit him by accusing him of coming off the set of another Magic Mike movie to give his opinions on gun reform. One post condemned McConaughey because he performs in a movie about male strippers and his opinion of the 2A doesn’t matter.
Further criticism bashed McConaughey for hypocrisy because of his use of guns in movies. One post read, “Yeah sure but it’s ok when you are shooting a movie and making lots of money to glorify gun use. I know it’s just TV and not real life but still, all these years to make a difference but now?” The ultra-right network Breitbart quoted information from the Internet Movie Firearms Database to point out that McConaughey has used 19 guns in 11 movies over 25 years.
Wait - should actors be criticized for playing parts in movies and TV shows where they display violent behavior? Does an actor need to only play roles that reflect who they are in real life? When did we stop understanding the difference between fantasy and reality?
This is just insane.
Actors should not be defined by the roles they play in fiction or depicting actual events. If this is the case, then no one would want to get in a car with any of the actors from the “Fast and Furious” movie franchise. Should we assume that actor Michael Douglas cheats on his wife because of his role in “Fatal Attraction?” Is Glenn Close, the person, a homicidal, promiscuous woman because of her role in “Fatal Attraction?”
Labeling Matthew McConaughey a hypocrite and discrediting his opinion on gun reform because he uses guns in movies is a desperate attempt to advance the argument that nothing should be done to control the sale and ownership of guns.
Anyone who cannot distinguish between an actor’s role in a movie and the real person is part of the problem - not the solution.