This story is part of a KXAN series of reports called “Stop Mass Shootings,” providing context and exploring solutions surrounding gun violence in the wake of the deadly Uvalde school shooting. We want our reports to be a resource for Texans, as well as for lawmakers who are convening a month after the events in Uvalde to discuss how the state should move forward. Explore all “Stop Mass Shootings” stories by clicking here.
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Actor Matthew McConaughey is making his rounds in Washington D.C. to talk with lawmakers about gun legislation.
The Uvalde native and Austin resident visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday to press lawmakers on gun measures following the Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children in his hometown.
McConaughey also met with President Joe Biden on Tuesday and gave a passionate speech at the White House press room podium, sharing the stories of the many Uvalde families he has met with.
“We start by making the right choices on the issue that is in front of us today. We start by making laws that save innocent lives and don’t infringe on our Second Amendment rights,” he said.
He listed the following as solutions he wants lawmakers, including the president, to consider:
- Investing in mental health care
- Making schools safer
- Restraining sensationalized media coverage of mass shootings
- Restoring family and American values
- Background checks
- Raising the age to buy a rifle to 21
- Implementing a waiting period
- Passing ‘red flag’ laws and consequences for people who abuse them
Sources tell NBC News McConaughey had dinner Monday with a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and the Senate to discuss gun violence prevention efforts. Participants included Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois., tweeted photos of the meeting. The Majority Whipe also wrote “we, like so many others, agree that gun safety reform is needed — I’ll keep working to make that happen.”
He was also spotted with Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley according to Grassley’s Twitter page.
McConaughey also penned an op-ed Monday in the Austin American-Statesman calling for responsible gun ownership.
“I believe that responsible, law-abiding Americans have a Second Amendment right, enshrined by our founders, to bear arms,” he wrote. “I also believe we have a cultural obligation to take steps toward slowing down the senseless killing of our children.”
