Actor and Texas native Matthew McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves, met Tuesday with President Joe Biden to discuss the recent spate of mass shootings across the country.
In a subsequent, emotional press briefing, the actor called on lawmakers to reach across the aisle to protect Americans from experiencing yet another tragedy.
“This should be a nonpartisan issue. This should not be a partisan issue,” McConaughey said of comprehensive gun reform. “There is not a Democratic or Republican value in one single act of these shooters.”
The “Dallas Buyers Club” actor is a native of Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were killed two weeks ago when a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School. In the wake of the shooting, McConaughey traveled to his hometown to meet with and offer support to the grieving community.
“Even from the inside of our vehicle, you could feel the shock in the town,” he said of the visit. “You could feel the pain, the denial, the disillusion, anger, blame, sadness, loss of lives, dreams halting. We saw ministries, we saw first responders, counselors, cooks, families trying to grieve without being on the front page news.”
Through tears, McConaughey spent much of the briefing talking about the families of the victims whom he met. One couple, Ryan and Jessica Ramirez, told McConaughey that their 10-year-old daughter Alithia wanted to go to art school and share her designs with the world.
McConaughey, holding up a drawing from the late child, explained that Alithia would never get that chance after being killed in her classroom.
“Ryan and Jessica were eager to share Alithia’s art with us and said that if we could share it that somehow, maybe, that would make Alithia smile in Heaven,” he said. “They told us that showing someone else Alithia’s art would, in some way, keep her alive.”
Another couple told McConaughey and Alves of 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez, who loved her green Converse shoes and dreamt of becoming a marine biologist.
“Maite wore green high top Converse with a heart she had hand drawn on the right toe because they represented her love of nature,” McConaughey said, pointing out the shoes placed in Alves’ lap. “The same green Converse on her feet that turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify [Maite] after the shooting.”
Camila Alves McConaughey holds the lime green Converse tennis shoes that were worn by Uvalde shooting victim Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10, as Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, joins White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
McConaughey and Alves have set up the Uvalde Relief Fund through their nonprofit just keep livin, which typically focuses on mental and physical wellness for high school students, to pay for “grief counseling, costs associated with burial services and other immediate and long-term needs” of the people of Uvalde, the site says in part.
McConaughey, describing the “exceptionally large exit wounds” left in the bodies of Uvalde’s children and educators, said: “Most of the body is so mutilated that only a DNA test or green Converse could identify [them]. Many children were left not only dead, but hollow. So yes, counselors are going to be needed in Uvalde for a long time. Counselors are needed at all these places where all these mass shooters have been for a long time.”
The 52-year-old laid out his vision for gun reform in the country, telling politicians there is a chance to “grasp a higher ground above our political affiliations, a chance to make the choice that does more than protect your party.”
“But people in power have failed to act,” he said. “So we’re asking you, and I’m asking you, will you please ask yourselves: 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?”
McConaughey, who himself is both a gun owner and a father of three, called for a number of concrete changes to gun laws, including raising the purchasing age for AR-style, semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 and tightened red flag laws – both ideas President Joe Biden voiced support for during an address on gun violence last week.
When asked why the Biden administration called on a Hollywood actor to advocate for comprehensive gun law reform, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in part: “Matthew was here because, as you heard, he has a very personal connection to Uvalde. He met with the families. He is from there. He was born there. He lives in Texas and we thought hearing from him directly, him using his platform is incredibly important.”
The White House is no stranger to bringing in star power in order to push forward its agenda. Last summer, singer and actress Olivia Rodrigo traveled to the White House as part of an administration effort to encourage young Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Last week, international K-pop sensation BTS joined an afternoon briefing before joining President Joe Biden to discuss Asian inclusion and representation.
