The Oscar-winning actor delivered a moving and powerful speech at the White House briefing on Wednesday as he emphasized the need for “responsible” gun legislation.
McConnaughey is a native of Uvalde, Texas, where Salvador Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School on May 24. Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston, 52, shared deeply personal stories in tribute to the victims and their lives cut short.
In his emotional address, he spoke of Maite Rodriguez, 9, noting that she aspired to become a marine biologist. She was already on the waitlist at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, hoping to attend one day.
“Maite wore green hightop Converse with a hand-drawn heart on the toe because she loved nature,” he said. The shoes were displayed.
“She wore these all the time,” he said. The green Converse with the heart on the right toe are the same ones on her feet that proved to be the only clear evidence that could identify her at the shooting.
McConnaughey went through a brief biography of each victim, at one point slamming his fist on the lectern in seeming frustration at the loss of life.
“Enough of the counter-punching, enough of the invalidation of the other side. Let’s find a middle ground – the place where most of us Americans live anyway – especially on this issue.
“Maybe set an example for our children give us reason to tell them…these are great American leaders right here I hope you grow up to be like them.
“We can’t truly be leaders if we are only living for re-election.”
“I promise you, America, you and me, we are not as divided as we are being told we are,” he said in his 20-minute speech.
Following a meeting with President Joe Biden, the Hollywood star told reporters how he and his wife Camilla had spent the past week with the grieving families and spoken at length about their loss – and the need for “making these lives matter”.
He added that every parent of every victim had told him and his wife they wanted their “children’s dreams to live on…to continue to accomplish something after they are gone” which had been his impetus to speak.
Everyone he had spoken to, “families of deceased, mothers, fathers, Texas rangers, hunters, responsible gun owners”, he said, had been united.
He said during the White House address that he wanted responsible gun laws that would make it harder for criminals to obtain weapons.
According to the actor, the Second Amendment right to bear arms does not guarantee there will be no effective gun control legislation because of that constitutional right.
“Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by deranged individuals, he told reporters, adding that these regulations are not a step back, but rather a step forward for civil society and the Second Amendment.
President Joe Biden last week called for banning semi-automatic, assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines and raising the minimum age to buy those weapons from 18 to 21 amid an increase in mass shooting incidents in the US. (ANI)
