On Tuesday, actor Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, grabbed the podium in the White House briefing room and spoke of learning “to admire the power and capacity” of a rifle as a child. He then described his grief at losing 21 students and teachers in his town to a guy with a gun so powerful that it permanently deformed several of their bodies.
Following a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden, Matthew McConaughey reiterated the president’s call for stricter background inspections on gun owners, new “red flag” laws, and extra prohibitions on the acquisition of AR-15 rifles. An AR-15 rifle was used to murder 19 children and 2 faculty members at a Uvalde elementary school. McConaughey’s visit to the White House occurred as a broad coalition of senators struggled to reach an agreement on new gun-control legislation.
Matthew McConaughey Choked Up During The Speech
Senators participating in the negotiations voiced cautious hope that they might draught legislation that would pass the equally split senate, though it seemed guaranteed to fall short of some of Biden’s demands, such as a ban on assault weapons. McConaughey said he and his wife, Camilla, went to Uvalde the day after the massacre and spoke with senators on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Matthew McConaughey choked up when he described meeting the family of Alithia Ramirez, a 10-year-old girl who aspired to attend art school in Paris, and how Alithia’s father, Ryan, had recently acquired a higher-paying job and promised to reward her by bringing her to Sea World. After a few moments, McConaughey shifted his focus to politics. He urged the media to tone down their sensationalist coverage of horrific shootings. The star of “Dazed and Confused” and “Interstellar,” McConaughey, pondered running for governor of Texas last year but decided against it in November, calling politics “a route that I am choosing not to follow at this time.”
