Following the event that 2 teachers and 19 students were massacred in a horrific shooting in his hometown last week, Matthe McConaughey, who was born and brought up in Uvalde, was one of the first to speak out and show support for the people there.
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On May 24, a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School, killing two adults and 19 children aged 7 to 10. A responding officer shot and killed the shooter, who was identified as Salvador Ramos, a local 18-year-old guy.
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When local police are still under fire for their response to the attack, McConaughey, a Texas native, conducted a visit to show his solidarity for people affected by the tragedy.
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The Academy Award winner was born in Uvalde and spent much of his childhood there. Kay McCabe, his mother, was a teacher at St. Philip’s Episcopal School, about a mile from Robb Elementary, where the shooting occurred.
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Last Friday, when he returned to his hometown, McConaughey allegedly spent time with community members, including families of those slain in the incident, at the Uvalde Civic Center.
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McConaughey was accompanied by his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, who later tweeted photos of the visit and expressed his gratitude to the actor directly for helping Uvalde heal.
This week was a solemn reminder that evil exists in the world, but we will never let it break us. We’ll unite to be an even more powerful reminder that love never fails & together we can change things.
Appreciate Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey helping us heal. #UvaldeUnited pic.twitter.com/2LwZPbuVNX
— Tony Gonzales (@TonyGonzales4TX) May 27, 2022
“This week was a solemn reminder that evil exists in the world, but we will never let it break us,” Rep. Gonzales posted on social media. “We’ll unite to be an even more powerful reminder that love never fails & together we can change things.”
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“Appreciate Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey helping us heal,” he wrote, adding the hashtag: #UvaldeUnited.
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McConaughey was one of the first to speak out in the aftermath of the massacre, making an impassioned plea for change.
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“Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” McConaughey shared.
Uvalde, Texas, USA. pic.twitter.com/0iULRGtREm
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 25, 2022
“The true call to action is for every American to take a longer and deeper look in the mirror, and ask ourselves, ‘What is it that we truly value? How do we repair the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to preserve a healthier and safer nation, state and neighborhood tomorrow?’” the actor posted.
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The Texan also urged his fellow citizens to think about the tragedy and use it to “renegotiate our wants from our needs,” saying that we must “find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children’s issue.”
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His call to action was echoed by a slew of other public personalities, including Kim Kardashian, who wrote an open letter calling for stricter gun control laws.
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“Semi automatic weapons, assault weapons, weapons of war, should not be legally sold or owned by American civilians,” Kardashian said in a lengthy tweet, which also called for an outright ban on assault weapons and a raise in the legal age to buy firearms.
There is no excuse and no justification for what happened yesterday. The current laws in our country around gun control are not protecting our children. We have to push law makers to enact laws that are fitting in today’s world.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) May 25, 2022
“Someone who is not old enough to buy alcohol should not be allowed to purchase a firearm,” she wrote. “There is no world in which an 18 year old needs a semi automatic weapon, or any weapon, and no world in which the outcome can be anything other than tragic.”
There is no excuse and no justification for what happened yesterday. The current laws in our country around gun control are not protecting our children. We have to push law makers to enact laws that are fitting in today’s world.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) May 25, 2022
“We are parents, we are mothers, we are begging and pleading for action,” she said. “I’m urging our leaders to come together and put politics aside and put children first.”
The legal age to purchase a firearm is also a serious issue and needs to be addressed and increased. The Parkland shooter, the Buffalo grocery store shooter, the Texas shooter yesterday, they were all under 21 and reportedly purchased weapons legally. These are teenagers.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) May 25, 2022
