Matthew McConaughey

The actor's appearance in the White House briefing room, after he and his wife Camilla met with President Joe Biden, was in many ways extraordinary, ...

“We need to focus on corrections and countermeasures that can also and immediately reduce the gun violence tragedies that have become too common in our country.” But there is still considerable doubt as to whether any significant gun measures will pass, given the 60-vote threshold needed to advance legislation in the Senate. That is what doomed legislation back in 2013, in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. These regulations are not a step back, they are step forward for a civil society and the Second Amendment.” These are the same green Converse on her feet that turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify her at the shooting. All three major cable news networks carried McConaughey’s remarks live, as he tried to vividly describe the personalities and aspirations of the victims. “We got a chance for, right now, to reach for and grasp a higher ground, above our political affiliations,” McConaughey said.

From the White House briefing room, actor Matthew McConaughey urges lawmakers to act on gun safety, in wake of mass shooting in his Texas hometown.

“Every parent separately expressed in their own way that they want their children’s dreams to live on,” the actor said. “A window where it seems like real change, real change can happen.” Choking up, he held up a laminated drawing by Alithia Ramirez, whose parents told him she had wanted to be an artist.

Actor Matthew McConaughey joined the White House briefing to pay tribute to Uvalde shooting victims ⁠— and to urge Congress to take action on gun ...

They’re a step forward for civil society." We need a waiting period for those rifles. "She wore these every day, green Converse, with a heart on the right toe. Uvalde is where I learned responsible gun ownership." McConaughey's remarks came as he's gone to the Capitol to meet with lawmakers and urge them to take action on guns. He got emotional while speaking about Maite Rodriguez, a 10-year-old girl who cared deeply about the environment and dreamed of becoming a marine biologist.

The Texas actor spoke at a press briefing Tuesday after meeting with President Joe Biden about responding to mass shootings. A Uvalde gunman killed 19 ...

“What I’m interested in is keeping guns out of the hands of those who, by current law, are not supposed to have them,” Cornyn said Monday in a Senate floor speech. Since the shooting in Uvalde, Texas Republican officials have repeatedly made calls for action on mental health but have otherwise been noncommittal to reforming gun laws. Can both sides see beyond the political problem at hand and admit that we have a life-preservation problem on our hands? So we’re asking you and I’m asking you … can both sides rise above? We need a waiting period for those rifles. We need red flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them.”

After spending a week in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, following the Robb Elementary School shooting, the actor eulogized several of the victims and shared ...

McConaughey showed pieces of artwork from and photos of some of the students and teachers killed at Robb Elementary, which McConaughey said is less than a mile from where his mother was a school teacher. “To make the loss of these lives matter,” Matthew McConaughey said as he began an impassioned 20-minute speech about gun reform during Tuesday’s White House press briefing. Responsible parties in this debate seem to at least be committed to sitting down and having a real conversation about a new and improved path forward—a path that can bring us closer together and make us safer as a country.

The Uvalde, Texas, native appeared in the White House briefing room and called for new gun control measures.

Mr. McConaughey asked his wife to hold up the green hightop Converse sneakers worn every day by 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez, who hoped to study one day to be a marine biologist, and who had drawn a heart on the right toe to symbolize her love of nature. He called on the news media to reduce its sensational coverage of mass shootings. Mr. McConaughey’s appearance at the White House came as a bipartisan group of senators tries to negotiate new legislation to respond to gun violence. “You could feel the shock in the town,” he said. He cast himself as a voice for responsible gun owners and described, in graphic detail, the horrors of gun violence. He then told of the horror he felt at losing 19 school children in his hometown to a man with a rifle so high-powered that it disfigured many of their bodies beyond recognition.

Actor Matthew McConaughey delivered an emotional White House appeal for gun regulations in the wake of last month's massacre in his hometown of Uvalde, ...

"There is no constitutional barrier to gun responsibility," McConaughey continued. "We heard from so many people: Families of the deceased, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, Texas Rangers, hunters, border patrol and responsible gun owners who won't give up their Second Amendment rights," he said. In an emotional speech at the White House on Tuesday, actor Matthew McConaughey called for new gun regulations in the wake of last month's mass shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, and urged federal lawmakers to honor their moral obligations instead of party affiliations.

The Uvalde, Texas, native appeared in the White House briefing room and called for new gun control measures.

Mr. McConaughey asked his wife to hold up the green hightop Converse sneakers worn every day by 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez, who hoped to study one day to be a marine biologist, and who had drawn a heart on the right toe to symbolize her love of nature. He called on the news media to reduce its sensational coverage of mass shootings. Mr. McConaughey’s appearance at the White House came as a bipartisan group of senators tries to negotiate new legislation to respond to gun violence. “You could feel the shock in the town,” he said. He cast himself as a voice for responsible gun owners and described, in graphic detail, the horrors of gun violence. He then told of the horror he felt at losing 19 school children in his hometown to a man with a rifle so high-powered that it disfigured many of their bodies beyond recognition.

Actor Matthew McConaughey, a Uvalde, Tex., native, made an unexpected stop in the White House press briefing room Tuesday, urging Congress to act on gun ...

Uvalde, he said, is the town where he “learned responsible gun ownership.” “This should be a nonpartisan issue,” McConaughey said. “That should not be a partisan issue. “Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals,” McConaughey said. He did say that he would not mandate vaccinating young children against the coronavirus, and that his own two youngest hadn’t been immunized. That they want their children’s dreams to live on,” McConaughey said.

Actor and gun owner describes 'window where real change can happen' as he reflects on his hometown of Uvalde.

He held up artwork from Alithia Ramirez, who dreamed of attending art school in Paris. And then there was Eliahna “Ellie” Garcia, who loved dancing and church and already knew how to drive tractors. McConaughey, who declined to take questions, spoke of his own connections to the town. He also noted that Uvalde was the place where he was taught about responsibilities that come with gun ownership. “We need to invest in mental healthcare. McConaughey, a gun owner himself, used his star power to make the case for turning the horror of the moment into concrete action. A window where it seems like real change can happen.”

McConaughey said he and his wife drove to Uvalde the day after the shooting and spent time with the families of some of the victims.

We need to restore our American values and we need responsible gun ownership," McConaughey said. McConaughey, who declined to take questions, spoke of his own connections to the town. He also noted that Uvalde was the place where he was taught about responsibilities that come with gun ownership. Ellie was looking forward to reading a Bible verse at an upcoming church service when she was killed. We need safer schools. Garnell Whitfield Jr. asked members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

From those praising him for reuniting the country over gun control, to those bashing him as a Hollywood stripper, people are divided over McConaughey's ...

"Yeah sure but it's ok when you are shooting a movie and making lots of money to glorify gun use. When an actor tries to lecture me on gun control and gun violence, when he has made millions from his movies displaying gun violence. "The White House is so devoid of credible surrogates they've had to drag Matthew McConaughey off the set of yet another Magic Mike sequel to drone on about gun control.

Matthew McConaughey delivered a passionate 20-minute speech at the podium of the White House press briefing room discussing the Texas mass shooting.

Again, we got to look in the mirror, lead with humility, and acknowledge the values that are inherent to but also above politics. The money she had made two summers ago paid to -- paid to paint the front of the house. Camila and I, we -- we sat with about 20 of their family members in the living room, along with their four kids. We also met Ana and Dani- -- Danilo, the mom and the stepdad of nine-year-old Maite Rodriguez. And Maite wanted to be a marine biologist. They -- they shared all these stories about Irma and Joe -- served the community and would host all these parties, and how Irma and Joe were planning on getting a food truck together when they soon retired. The week prior to her passing, she had been preparing to read a verse from the Bible for the next Wednesday night's church service. I need to live next to the ocean because I want to be a marine biologist. 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. Now, Alithia -- her dream was to go to art school in Paris and one day share her art with the world. Camila and I came here to share my stories from my hometown of Uvalde. I came here to take meetings with elected officials on both sides of the aisle. Her mother said, of this drawing -- she said, “You know, we never really talked to her about heaven before, but somehow she knew.” 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 actor from Uvalde has won an Oscar and considered running for governor of Texas.

He left the desert with a book that fits his approach to life. “It’s a humbling and inspiring path to ponder,” he said. McConaughey never became such a Hollywood fixture that he left Texas behind for good. To his credit, he never tried to spin the event. He describes in the book an offer for an unnamed rom-com that would’ve paid $14 million. Most of them had no idea he was a film star. We like to think of Matthew McConaughey as a great superstar from the beginning. He was dating a bartender working at the Hyatt in Austin. She got to know Don Phillips, a notable casting director who was in town working on a new film by Houston native Richard Linklater, whose “Slacker” was an independent film success. At 6’2” and 220 lbs., the University of Houston draftee never could play end in the 21st century. He made him in a way he didn’t other actors. “Don saw something in him,” said Melissa Maerz, author of the book “Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s ‘Dazed and Confused.’” He got Matthew an agent, taught him behind-the-scenes things about the industry. Interest in a Texas gubernatorial run ended last November. But McConaughey -- a Texas native and a Texas resident -- hasn't ruled out a future run for public office.