Tears flow as Mcconaughey says it is time for gun reform
Uvalde-born actor tells White House audience ‘deranged’ people abuse the Second Amendment
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, the Oscar-winning actor, pleaded with US lawmakers to implement “reasonable, practical, tactical” gun reforms in an emotional speech to the White House.
The 52-year-old was born in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were shot dead at an elementary school by an 18-year-old gunman wielding a semi-automatic rifle.
After meeting Joe Biden, the US President, Mcconaughey stood on the podium in the White House press room and teared up telling the stories of children who died on May 24 in his hometown.
The actor explained that he had met the families of the victims in the aftermath of the shooting as well as the cosmetologist who worked on the bodies of the dead, but said the victims required “much more than makeup to be presentable”.
“They needed extensive restoration,” he added. “Why? Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an AR-15 rifle. Most of the bodies so mutilated that only DNA tests … could identify. Many children were left not only dead but hollow.”
The actor choked when he talked about 10-year-old Alithea Ramirez, who was killed in the massacre. He explained that she dreamt of going to art school in Paris and held up a drawing that her parents allowed him to show.
At one point he banged his fist on the lectern. In a particularly emotional moment, he turned to his wife, Camilla, who held up a pair of green high-top Converse shoes similar to the ones worn by nine-year-old Maite Rodriguez, who was killed at the school.
“These are the same green Converse on her feet that turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting.”
Closing, he said: “Every one of these parents wanted their children’s dreams to live on. They want their children’s dreams to continue, to accomplish something after they are gone. They want to make their loss of life matter,” he said.
Mcconaughey was introduced as “a native of Uvalde, a father, and a gun owner.” He told reporters: “Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals.
“While we honour and acknowledge the victims, we need to recognise that this time seems that something is different. There is a sense that perhaps there’s a viable path forward.”
‘We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21’
He asked politicians to put their party allegiances aside. “Can both sides rise above? Can both sides see beyond the political problem at hand and admit that we have a life preservation problem on our hands? We got to get some real courage and honour our mortal obligations instead of our party affiliations and enough with the counterpunching,’’ he said. “We can’t truly be leaders if we only live for re-election.”
Setting out an agenda of reform that echoed that of Mr Biden, Mcconaughey added: “We need to invest in mental healthcare, we need safer schools, we need to restore family values, we need responsible gun ownership, we need background checks, we need red flag laws, we need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21.”
He left without taking questions. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are working furiously to strike a bipartisan agreement on gun safety measures in the aftermath of back-toback mass shootings.
The hearing is the first of two this week as families of the victims and survivors of the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde appear at public hearings and events in Washington to show the human toll of America’s gun violence and urge Congress to act.