Matthew McConaughey, Wife Camila Alves Meet With Biden To Discuss Gun Reform After Uvalde Massacre
After the Robb Elementary School massacre that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers, Uvalde, Texas native and actor Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves met with President Biden and over 30 members of Congress to push for gun responsibility.
Immediately, the actor took it upon himself to enact social change and make sure the tragedy could at the very least lead to gun reform in the hopes that a shooting like this will never happen again.
McConaughey first traveled to Uvalde alongside wife Alves to meet with the families affected by the shooting and offer their support. The “Dallas Buyers Club” actor held onto 10-year-old Alithia Ramirez’s self-portrait, and 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez’s green Converse sneakers, that were “the only evidence” to identify her after the massacre.
The actor spoke about his experience of the visit when he spoke at the White House briefing room on June 7, expressing that “every one” of those parents “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.”
McConaughey spoke about his vision for gun reform, stating how, “We need to invest in mental health care, we need safer schools, we need to restrain sensationalized media coverage, we need to restore our family values, we need to restore our American values and we need responsible gun ownership.”
He also published a four-point gun responsibility plan calling for an increase in background checks, raising the age to purchase an assault rifle to 21, allowing for red flag laws that temporarily prevent certain individuals from accessing weapons and having a waiting period after an assault rifle purchase.
McConaughey took his experience visiting Uvalde and the four-point plan straight to President Biden, who he met with before his White House speech. As the actor posted on Instagram, he and Alves also met with over 30 members of Congress across both parties to talk about changes in gun laws, writing, “This is and was about gun responsibility.”
Set to a montage that shows the couple speaking to countless members of Congress, he described how they met with “several leaders of the Senate, the House and the President.” As is consistent with his message at the White House, the “Interstellar” star explained that, “This is about mental health, safer schools… AND keeping guns out of the IRresponsible hands that, by rule of law, still have access to them today.”
The actor is also firm that gun reform must come from “both sides” of the political spectrum, closing out his message with, “It’s time to be responsible.”
For the most part, fans seemed to be very on board with the actor’s thoughts on the issue, with one user commenting: “Thank you on behalf of teachers for fighting for safe schools… I hope both sides come together soon.” Another echoed the sentiment, writing, “Thank you, thank you for being a much-needed voice in this overdue conversation. Thank you both.”
