Matthew McConaughey, who was born in the Texas city of Uvalde, has been actively pursuing gun law reforms since the tragic school shooting.
Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves visited the White House overnight to pay tribute to victims of the Uvalde school shooting, and advocate for reforms to the United States’ current gun laws.
The actor met with legislators on Capitol Hill to discuss potential ways to prevent gun violence in the US, following the country’s deadliest weekend of shootings in 2022 so far.
Speaking to the press after the meetings, McConaughey paid a touching tribute to the victims of the shooting, showing off artworks the children had created.
“You know what every one of these parents wanted, what they asked us for? What every parent separately expressed in their own way to Camila and me? That they want their children’s dreams to live on,” he said.
“That they want their children’s dreams to continue, to accomplish something after they are gone. They want to make their loss of life matter.”
“We’re in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before… a window where it seems like real change can happen,” the actor continued.
“We know it’s on the table. We need to invest in mental health care. We need safer schools. We need to restrain sensationalised media coverage. We need to restore our family values, we need to restore our American values and we need responsible gun ownership.”
McConaughey proposed possible reforms to the current laws, adding, “We need background checks. We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21. We need red flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them.”
You can watch his full address below.
