Matthew McConaughey Responds to President Biden Signing Gun Control Bill: ‘Step in the Right Direction’
“While this bill isn’t perfect, it is a shining example of a great American potential and political virtue: the act of compromise and validating an opposing viewpoint,” wrote McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey has a lot to say about the country’s new gun control bill.
Captioning an eight-slide Instagram post, “America… the land of AND,” on Saturday, the 52-year-old actor called the bill “a reasonable and holistic step towards addressing America’s gun violence epidemic.”
“This bill will save innocent lives by keeping guns out of the law breaking and irresponsible hands that are trying to hijack the Second Amendment,” one of the slides read in part.
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“While this bill isn’t perfect, it is a shining example of a great American potential and political virtue: the act of compromise and validating an opposing viewpoint,” he continued.
McConaughey added that the country is a place “where we have Freedom AND Responsibility, Rights AND Duties, Opportunity, AND Obligations.”
Concluded the actor: “Our government took a step in the right direction. Now it’s time for us to remind them AND ourselves what the best of our country is AND can be.”
On Saturday, President Joe Biden signed S. 2938, otherwise known as the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” which enacts commonsense gun laws and provides funding for mental health support and anti-violence programs.
“I’m about to sign into law a bipartisan gun safety legislation. And time is of the essence. Lives will be saved,” Biden told reporters before putting his signature on the bill in the White House’s Roosevelt Room.
The bill “enhances certain restrictions and penalties on firearms purchases; promotes evidence-based best practices for school safety; authorizes grants to expand access to mental health services; and appropriates emergency funding for mental health resources and school safety measures,” according to a White House briefing.
McConaughey has attended more than 30 meetings surrounding the country’s gun control issues on Capitol Hill in recent weeks. Earlier this month, McConaughey attended a White House press briefing to deliver remarks about the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting — which killed 19 students and two teachers on May 24 — and what it means for the future of the nation.
“This should not be a partisan issue,” McConaughey said during his emotional, 21-minute speech. “There is not a democratic or republican value in one single act of these shooters, but people in power have failed to act.”
McConaughey — who was born in Uvalde — and his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, spent several days in the actor’s hometown visiting with victims’ families. They listened to numerous stories about the innocent lives lost, and came to realize that every single family shared a common goal: to make the massacre matter.
“How can the loss of these lives matter?” McConaughey asked in the briefing. “While we honor and acknowledge the victims, we need to recognize that this time, it seems that something is different. There is the sense that perhaps there is a viable path forward [for enacting gun safety legislation].”
Since the Uvalde massacre, McConaughey has spent a considerable amount of time in the D.C. area advocating for gun safety, and has met with “over 30 members across both parties,” including “leaders of the Senate, the House,” as well as President Biden.
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