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ACTOR MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY took the podium at the White House today to deliver an emotional appeal for “gun responsibility” following the massacre at an elementary school in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.
“We are in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before, a window where it seems like real change, real change can happen,” the 52-year-old told reporters.
McConaughey, who visited Uvalde and met with families of the victims after 19 children and two teachers were shot dead on 24 May, spoke powerfully about some of the children who died.
He displayed a colorful drawing made by Alithia Ramirez, a 10-year-old who had wanted to attend art school in Paris one day.
McConaughey also pointed out a pair of green Converse shoes held by his wife, Camila Alves, that belonged to another of the victims, Maite Rodriguez.
“Green Converse with a heart on the right toe,” McConaughey said. “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.
“How about that?” he said, pounding the lectern in a hushed White House briefing room.
McConaughey, who met with President Joe Biden and members of Congress before addressing the White House press corps, said the families of the victims told him that they wanted to make “their loss matter.”
“They want their children’s dreams to live on,” he said.
"Maite wore these every day. These are the same green Converse on her feet that turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify her."
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 7, 2022
Actor Matthew McConaughey, who was born in Uvalde, delivers a passionate speech from the White House calling for new gun controls. pic.twitter.com/Bg5eMwp2cn
“We consoled so many people,” he said. “And you know what they all said? ‘We want secure and safe schools and we want gun laws that won’t make it so easy for the bad guys to get these damn guns.’
“We need to invest in mental health care. We need safer schools,” he said. “We need to restore our American values and we need responsible gun ownership.
“We need background checks,” he continued. “We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21.”
‘Life preservation problem’
McConaughey, who won a best actor Oscar in 2014 for the film “Dallas Buyers Club” and has flirted with running for governor of Texas, said it should be a “nonpartisan issue.”
“As divided as our country is, the gun responsibility issue is one that we agree on,” he said.
“There is not a Democratic or Republican value in one single act of these shooters,” he said.
Can both sides see beyond the political problem at hand and admit that we have a life preservation problem on our hands?
Gun violence is common in America but the nationwide shock over recent mass shootings at a grocery store in Buffalo and the school in Uvalde has once again spurred calls for action.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has been working with a bipartisan group of senators on reform measures – a heavy lift, with many Republicans routinely rejecting most forms of gun control.
A recent CBS News/YouGov poll found that 62% of Americans back a nationwide ban on semi-automatic rifles. Support is even higher for background checks on all gun buyers (81%).
US gun violence has killed more than 18,000 people so far in 2022, including nearly 10,300 suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Can’t buy beer till 21, can buy assault rifles at 18. What a mess
@pistachio 32: and how strict they are on that and rightly so(tried to buy beer as an 18 year old!) pity the same strict enforcement can’t be applied to fire arms purchase
@pistachio 32: So subtle even the audience didn’t get it:
While McConaughey has every right and reason to speak on this issue, the people that need convincing are the very ones that see him as the embodiment of Hollywood/Liberal/Secular/Elite, and will reject anything he says just because of who he is. If the Republicans can’t lead on even moderate gun control measures at State level and eliminate NRA political funding from the field, then nothing will change at all.
@Eoin Roche: Sadly, I was thinking the same thing. I commend anyone for trying though, in fairness. We can hope against hope someone somehow breaks through
@Eoin Roche: it doesn’t matter who says it, NRA wouldn’t allow any control
@Eoin Roche: apart from the age “21” what would be moderate? In your opinion.
@Eoin Roche: son should he say nothing?
Alrite alrite alrite…fairy play McConaughney!
Just read a report that was prepared for a debate on gun control in the house of Congress. This report appears on Sky News…Had to read the article a few times …convinced I had read it wrong. Over 700 gun related deaths have occurred in the U.S.since the school murders in Texas…That was only 2 weeks ago..Checked the article again before I posted …Sweet Jesus that some basket case of a country.
@Donal Desmond: there were 698 mass shooting events in the US last year, there are slightly different definitions of ‘mass shooting’ so this figure is where the incident satisfied more than 2 of the established indexes. Those incidents resulted in 705 fatalities and 2,830 injuries.
@D. Memery: After reading the article on Sky News ,I went into official U.S. websites..The brake down was pretty uniformed…316 people on average are shot every day….210 on average survive, but still over 100 a day die. Some sites play down the number of fatalities by not including suicide. One unbelievable fact ..since 1968 and 2020 ..1.4 million Americans have died due to gun related issues. That’s more than all U.S. deaths in WW1..WW2..Vietnam.
The white house can bring” god” up to the table to make sense. But they will never listen .
Over 21 and background checks? I mean this guy Michael Louis was the perpetrator of a mass shooting at a hospital in Oklahoma just five days ago. He was over 21, not on police radar (except for minor traffic violations) and legally purchased an AR-15 and a semi-automatic handgun at 2pm the day of the shooting.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/02/us/tulsa-hospital-shooting-thursday/index.html
@Sean: I know, it’s putting a bandaid on a surgical wound. The truth is all of the school shootings involving AR 15s or similar type weapons have been by under 21s but if someone has an older brother or like Adam Lanza from Sandy Hook, a parent with an assault gun then they have their hands on one easily. Those guns could be banned without infringing on the 2nd amendment. That would help. Raising the minimum age might and probably wll prevent some mass school shootings, but it’s not nearly enough.
Fair play to him. Needs to be said again and again. He has been on Joe Rogans podcast so hopefully he goes on there again with the same message
An assault rifle available to over 21′s only is not really much of an aspiration is it? Why does ANY civilian need an assault weapon?
@Fr. Fintan Stack: exactly. If you ask a gun nut the best they come up with is “because the constitution says we can”.
I know I have annoyed many of my liberal American friends with my opinion but I blame all Americans for the carnage in their schools, including all the ones supporting gun control. American society is the most selfish of any country I’ve ever spent time in. People are already moving on after this shooting and all they dd was post some angry comments on Facebook. Imagine if that happened here and the government did nothing about it. Would we accept it? think about it… We didit accept water charges would we accept our kids being shot at school? Americans talk the talk but aren’t prepared to walk the walk because that will interrupt their cosy convenient life. So I blame all of them. They all have blood on their hands.
@Gearóid MacEachaidh: over 80% of America’s want substantial restrictions on guns. That’s a fact.
The reasons it doesn’t happen is mainly cos USA is no longer a functional democracy. It’s that simple.
Some of the weapons specialists in the states took a look at what weapons that mass shooter used. They recon he had $9000 worth of weaponry, and he was 18. Think he was supplied the weapons.
@neuromancer: they hand out credit cards to 18 year olds pretty easy too.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2022/06/08/gun-owners-ar15-rifles-support-ac360-kaye-pkg-vpx.cnn
That’s what your up against. Bird brains. Honestly don’t think I could go to to America with my wife and kids. I seen a clip of the guy who shot up the mall in ny scarred me for life
@Vinny Clare: actually it was buffalo the guy live streamed it using a GoPro
Deaf ears.
On a positive note, the collapse of society that we are witnessing in the US will lead to a more civil, more democratic and fairer country – probably.
I suppose a big problem is the people who are agaibst gun control… have guns!
@Colm de Cleir: that’s true but by criminalising them for having banned guns the government can prevent them from having any guns and a lot won’t want to take that risk. I wouldn’t consider myself anti gun but as others have said no one needs an AR 15 for hunting or self defence. Those guns are made to kill multiple people quickly. But you’re right, enforcing a ban on some of those nutters could get ugly.
He’s talking to a country where the majority are devoid of logic.
They could only identify one little girl by her Converse sneakers!! Shame on you America.
Why would they want to control guns at the White House. They have to defend the President. I admit I only read the headline. Is it just bad grammar I wonder.
@Miguel Marron: Fool.
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