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He, too, has now positioned himself clearly against gun violence in the USA: Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey met with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday to campaign for a reform of gun laws.
Matthew McConaughey, actor: »This time seems to be different. I have the impression that maybe there is a way forward. The parties responsible on this issue seem at least willing to sit down and have a real conversation about a new and better way. We have reached a time that we have never experienced before. It looks like real change, real change is possible.«
McConaughey grew up in Uvalde, Texas.
On May 24, an 18-year-old shot dead 19 elementary school students and two teachers there.
The actor spoke at the White House about his meetings with the victims' relatives.
Matthew McConaughey, actor: »There we met two of the grieving parents, Ryan and Jessica Ramirez, and their 10-year-old daughter Alethia. She was one of the nineteen children killed the previous day.”
McConaughey pointed to a pair of green shoes that belonged to another victim, Maite Rodriguez.
Matthew McConaughey, actor: »She wore these green Converse with a heart on the right toe every day. Those are the same green Converse on her feet that turned out to be the only definitive evidence by which to identify her after the shooting. What do you say to that?'
Matthew McConaughey had considered running for governor of Texas, but scrapped the plan.
Growing up in Uvalde, he was taught to worship guns.
Now he spoke out in favor of tighter controls on gun buyers.
Matthew McConaughey, actor: We need tougher scrutiny of buyers. We need to raise the minimum purchase age for an AR-15 rifle to 21. We need a wait for these guns. We need gun control laws and penalties for those who abuse them."
Republicans and some Democrats from rural areas in particular have been blocking tightening of US gun laws for years - despite massacres like the one in Uvalde.
