It still hard to believe that 21 innocent lives were taken in the tragic mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24th.
And actor Matthew McConaughey spent some time in Washington D.C. today to talk about his personal ties to the town of Uvalde, where he grew up, and how he wants to see things change in the wake of this awful tragedy.
The 52-year-old took the podium at a White House press briefing earlier to discuss some of his ideas, in addition to penning a column in the Austin American-Statesman yesterday about his proposed solutions and previously posting a “call to action” on his Instagram immediately after the shooting.
In an emotional opening about what he’d seen and heard from parents back home in Uvalde, he urged people to take action while there is still the opportunity for change:
“We are in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before. A window where it seems like real change, real change can happen.
I’m here today in the hopes of applying what energy, reason and passion that I have into trying to turn this moment into a reality. Because as I said, this moment is different.”
At the press conference, he echoed some of the sentiments of his column from the day prior on specific action he’d like to see implemented, saying:
“We need background checks. We need to raise the minimum age 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.”
While he has previously vocalized his support for the 2nd amendment as is evidenced in the aforementioned column, he opened this speech by saying there was only one way to make the loss of these lives truly matter:
“How can the loss of these lives matter? We need to recognize this time it seems something is different…
These regulations are not a step back. They are a step forward for civil society and the Second Amendment.”
He also told reporters that he had met with several different congressman and senators on Capitol Hill from both sides of the aisle to discuss possible reform policies while in D.C., including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Matthew and his wife, Camila, have been on the ground in Uvalde, helping to provide support and raise fund through his Just Keep Livin’ Foundation.
For him, it really comes down to one word… responsibility.
You can watch his entire press conference here:
