Matthew McConaughey Gave A Moving Speech On Guns At The White House & It's Super Emotional
"We want secure and safe schools."
Matthew McConaughey delivers a speech on gun control at the White House.
Matthew McConaughey spoke at the White House briefing on Tuesday to remember the 21 victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and to call for stronger gun laws. Matthew McConaughey delivers a speech on gun control at the White House.
During the 22-minute speech, the actor, accompanied by his wife, Camila Alves, made an emotional plea for lawmakers to impose stricter rules around guns, so that last month's shooting doesn't happen again.
He also spoke about a pair of shoes that one of the victims wore on the day she was killed, in a moving effort to show the impact of the shooting.
"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," McConaughey 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 the damn guns,” McConaughey said.
The Texas native - who is also a gun owner - called on Congress to raise the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 assault-style rifle from 18 to 21, and to bolster background checks for gun purchases.
McConaughey is from Uvalde, and he spoke about how his own mom was a kindergarten teacher at a school very close to Robb Elementary.
The actor also spoke about Uvalde as the place where he learned about guns and the meaning and responsibility behind owning one.
“Uvalde is where I was taught to revere the power and the capability of the tool that we call a gun,” he said.
He also spoke on the importance of mental healthcare and creating safe learning environments.
"We need to invest in mental healthcare. 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,” McConaughey added.