WASHINGTON (AP) – Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey appeared at the White House on Tuesday to urge Congress to “reach a higher level” and pass gun control legislation in honor of children and teachers killed in last year’s shootings. month at an elementary school in his hometown of Uwalde, Texas.
In a highly personal 22-minute speech, McConaughey called on Congress to pass reforms in weapons that can save lives without violating the rights of the Second Amendment.
McConaughey, the gunman himself, used his stellar power to argue for legislation in a way the Biden administration failed to gather, offering a clear link to the small Texas town and vividly describing the sheer loss of 19 children and two teachers in the second worst mass school shooting in U.S. history.
He specifically called on Congress to step up past checks on gun purchases and raise the minimum age for buying an AR-15 rifle to 21 out of 18.
“We want safe and secure schools and we want gun laws that won’t make it so easy for bad boys to get damn guns,” McConaughey said.
McConaughey, who earlier this year was considering running for governor of Texas before taking a pass, met briefly in private with President Joe Biden before addressing the White House press office from James Brady’s briefing.
McConaughey also met with key lawmakers this week, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Senate Judicial Committee on Weapons Legislation, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa on the committee’s list.
Also Tuesday, the son of Ruth Whitfield, an 86-year-old woman killed when a gunman opened fire in a racist attack on black shoppers in Buffalo, New York, last month, called on Congress to act against “white supremacy cancer” and the national epidemic. gun violence.
“Isn’t there anything you personally are willing to do to stop the cancer of white supremacy and the internal terrorism it inspires?” Garnel Whitfield Jr. asked members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
McConaughey, who declined to answer questions, spoke about his own ties to the city. He said his mother taught at a kindergarten less than a mile from Rob Uwalde Elementary School, the site of the May 24 shooting. He also noted that Uwalde is the place where he is taught about the responsibilities that come with owning a weapon.
“Uvalde is where I was taught to respect the power and capabilities of the tool we call the pistol,” he said.
McConaughey said he and his wife returned to Uwalde the day after the shooting and spent time with the families of some of the victims and others directly affected by the riot.
He said every parent he spoke to said “they want their children’s dreams to live.”
“They want to make the loss of life important,” McConaughey said.
He told the personal stories of a number of victims.
He told the story of Maite Rodriguez, an ambitious marine biologist. McConaughey’s wife, Camilla, sitting nearby, was holding a pair of green Converse sneakers, resembling the ones the girl often wore.
McConaughey said the sneakers “turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting.”
He held works of art by Alicia Ramirez, who dreamed of attending an art school in Paris. And then there was Eliana “Eli” Garcia, who loved dancing and church and already knew how to drive tractors. Ellie was looking forward to reading a Bible verse at an upcoming church service when she was killed.
McConaughey acknowledged that gun legislation would not end mass shootings, but suggested that steps could be taken to reduce the chances of such tragedies happening so often.
“We need to invest in mental health care. We need safer schools. We need to limit sensational media coverage. We need to restore our family values. “We need to restore our American values, and we need responsible gun ownership,” McConaughey said.
“Is this a cure for everything?” Hell, no, but people are hurt. “
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Associated Press authors Lisa Mascaro and Farnush Amiri contributed to this report.
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In a version of this story published on June 7, 2022, the Associated Press quoted McConaughey as saying that his wife Camilla was holding a pair of sneakers worn by a girl who died in the attack. The shoes were similar, but they weren’t the girl’s sneakers.
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