Matthew McConaughey calls for bipartisan gun reform after Uvalde shooting: 'This is a novel, special time'
Actor Matthew McConaughey visited the nation's capital this week and called for gun reform after a school shooting took the lives of over a dozen children in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, late last month.
McConaughey has expressed support for gun control on multiple occasions over the past week, beginning with an op-ed for The Austin American-Statesman Monday, advocating for increased "gun responsibility" and stricter gun laws he feels will help prevent further shooting tragedies.
On Tuesday, the actor challenged the current laws surrounding gun ownership during a White House press briefing, discussing the issue with President Joe Biden and Capitol Hill lawmakers beforehand.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The Academy Award-winning actor's push for gun reform comes amid the aftermath of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24. A teenage male shot and killed 19 children and two teachers. The Justice Department has launched an investigation into law enforcement's response to the mass shooting amid criticism for an alleged lengthy delay in entering the building.
During an interview with Fox News' Brett Baier Tuesday, McConaughey reiterated the calls he made in his op-ed for universal background checks, raising the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 from 18 to 21, a national waiting period and the implementation of red flag laws.
"I'm not someone from the entertainment industry that decided to swing by for an open cause," the 52-year-old actor said during the interview. "This landed on my – I got the calling. It happened in the town I was born in. Alright? So it got very personal for me."
The celebrity told Baier that he visited Texas and had conversations with responsible gun owners who support the restrictions he outlined. Asked to address claims from some that mental health and school safety should be the area of focus instead of stricter gun laws, McConaughey responded, "all of these things make sense."
"We're not going to fix people. That's going to be a lifetime job after we're here and after we're gone for our kids and their kids after," he responded. "I do think there are some things we can do to keep the guns out of the bad guys' hands, make it harder for them to get them."
He also believes bipartisan gun reform seems possible as lawmakers appear motivated to make changes and find solutions.
"The consensus … that I'm hearing in praise is that this time is different, that there is some more momentum, that on the right there are some things that they're willing to not staunchly say no to and consider, that on the left, they're willing to say, you know what, we may want the whole loaf, but we'll take a slice of bread."
"So I'm told that this is a novel thing happening right now," he continued. "And this is a novel and special time happening right now where actually something may change instead of just talking about [it] and nothing changes again for another 30 years."
The Hollywood star asserted there is a "window of opportunity" to enact meaningful gun reform legislation during his Tuesday briefing at the White House.
"These are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations to our nation, states, communities, schools, and homes. Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals," McConaughey insisted. "These regulations are not a step back; they're a step forward for a civil society and — and the Second Amendment."
The Uvalde native said that he and his wife spent the week following the shooting with the families of those killed. McConaughey showed artwork from the students and believes action needs to be taken to honor the lives of those who were killed.
"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?" he asked. "That they want their children's dreams to live on, 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."
Media figures and bloggers on both sides of the gun control debate offered their thoughts on the proposed bills.
Yamiche Alcindor, anchor and moderator of PBS' "Washington Week," praised McConaughey's remarks in a Tuesday tweet.
"Matthew McConaughey at the White House just passionately eulogized the lives lost in his hometown of Uvalde, demanded action on gun control measures, and challenged the country to do more to prevent such deaths," Alcindor wrote. "We start by making the loss of these lives matter."
Matthew McConaughey at the White House just passionately eulogized the lives lost in his hometown of Uvalde, demanded action on gun control measures, and challenged the country to do more to prevent such deaths.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) June 7, 2022
He said, "We start by making the loss of these lives matter."
Conservative radio host and Second Amendment advocate Dana Loesch also addressed McConaughey's remarks about gun control on Twitter Tuesday. She contends that the actor was "repeating every studied and proven non-solution the gun control lobby has ever proposed but he's wrapping it in a veneer of friendly Texas drawl."
Loesch also wrote a Substack article Monday in response to McConaughey's op-ed, where she responded to the actor's proposals and provided explanations for why she doesn't believe they'd work.
McConaughey is repeating every studied and proven non-solution the gun control lobby has ever proposed but he’s wrapping it in a veneer of friendly Texas drawl.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) June 7, 2022
"While I appreciate that McConaughey doesn't enter this discussion with the usual ad hominem to which we accustomed from gun control advocates, I still strongly disagree with his proposals which I don't believe address the problem or get us any closer to a solution," she wrote.
McConaughey has a history of advocating against gun violence, speaking about the need for improved restrictions during a 2018 March for Our Lives event in Austin, Texas. During his speech, the actor called for Americans to join together to "help heal our country" and offered solutions that he believed would prevent future mass shootings.
"One, let's ban the assault weapons for civilians," he proclaimed as the crowd erupted in applause. "And to my friends out there that are responsible owners of these recreational or these assault weapons that they use for recreation, please let's just take one for the team here and set it down."
Additionally, McConaughey called on lawmakers to "restrict the capacity on the magazines."
"The third one: Let's better regulate the background checks that are already in place and close the loopholes that exist in those background checks," he concluded. "Now, those are the three main stipulations and for those three I can say it, if you say it with me: alright, alright, alright."
