McConaughey feels very strongly about this.
Speaking at a press briefing at the White House on Tuesday (June 7), Matthew McConaughey made an impassioned plea, calling for “real change” to deal with gun violence, stating that the “we are not as we are being told we are” regarding gun control issues.
The actor, who appeared at the White House to address the mass shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, began by questioning, “How can the loss of these lives matter?”
He then went on to highlight the lives of several children killed by an 18-year-old gunman, including Maite Rodriguez. McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves, had visited Uvalde and met with families of victims following the May attack.
During Tuesday’s briefing, Alves sat with a pair of green Converse used to identify Rodriguez, something McConaughey brought up in his speech, noting the shoes were the” only clear evidence that could identify” the young Rodriguez.
The actor went on to call for stricter gun controls: “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.”
Part of the legislation McConaughey pushed lawmakers to pass included raising the legal age to purchase assault rifles to 21 in addition to instituting a waiting period when buying these firearms, requiring background checks on all gun purchases, and implementing a national red flag system.
“Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals,” McConaughey exclaimed before turning his attention to division on the matter.
“As divided as our country is, this gun responsibility issue is one we agree on more than we don’t,” adding “this should be a nonpartisan issue.”
He then said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle need to look “beyond the political problem at hand and admit that we have a life preservation problem on our hands,” continuing that lawmakers can’t “truly be leaders” if they are “only living for reelection.”
In his closing statements, McConaughey said, “I promise you, America: You and me, we are not as divided as we are being told we are.”
