Matthew McConaughey Pushes for ‘Gun Responsibility’ Over ‘Gun Control’ After Shooting in His Hometown Uvalde

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Matthew McConaughey penned an impassioned op-ed calling for “gun responsibility” after the Robb Elementary School shooting, stressing that his proposal differs from gun control measures.

“I am a father, the son of a kindergarten teacher, and an American,” McConaughey wrote in a Monday column for Austin American-Statesman. “I was also born in Uvalde, Texas. That’s why I’m writing this.”

McConaughey went on to stress that he is a supporter of the Second Amendment, saying, “law-abiding Americans have a Second Amendment right, enshrined by our founders, to bear arms.”

“I also believe we have a cultural obligation to take steps toward slowing down the senseless killing of our children,” he continued.

The actor went on to condemn the debate over gun control, pushing instead for a conversation around gun responsibility:

There is a difference between control and responsibility. The first is a mandate that can infringe on our right; the second is a duty that will preserve it. There is no constitutional barrier to gun responsibility. Keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people is not only the responsible thing to do, it is the best way to protect the Second Amendment. We can do both.

While McConaughey highlighted his opposition to gun control, he decried that acts of violence, often caused by gun carriers, “are ripping apart families, tearing at people’s faith, and shredding the fabric of our society.”

“We have an epidemic of indiscriminate mass shootings, of parents burying their children, of inaction, and buck-passing,” he added. “Saving the unnecessary loss of lives is not a partisan issue.”

He later addressed calls for better mental health care and school safety, arguing that while they are crucial factors, the nation needs to take action on gun violence immediately.

“We need to make the lost lives matter. Our leaders must make bipartisan compromises on a few reasonable measures to restore responsible gun ownership in our country,” he wrote before proposing a four-step plan for gun responsibility.

In his proposal, McConaughey pushed for background checks, raising the age requirement on semi-automatic firearms to 21, enacting Red Flag Laws as “the law of the land,” and instituting a national waiting period for assault rifles.

Read the full proposal below:

I believe:

1) All gun purchases should require a background check. Eighty-eight percent of Americans support this, including a lot of responsible gun owning Texans. … I’ve met them. Roof, who killed nine people in a black church in South Carolina in 2015, got his pistol without a completed background check due to a legal technicality. The system failed. Gun control activists call this a loophole. I call it incompetence.

2) Unless you are in the military, you should be 21 years old to purchase an assault rifle. I’m not talking about 12-gauge shotguns or lever-action hunting rifles. I’m talking about the weapon of choice for mass murderers, AR-15s. The killer in my hometown of Uvalde purchased two AR-15s for his eighteenth birthday, just days before he killed 19 students and two teachers. He obeyed the law. Had the law been different, perhaps I wouldn’t be writing this today.

3) Red Flag Laws should be the law of the land. These measures, which are already in effect in 19 states and Washington, D.C., empower loved ones or law enforcement to petition courts to temporarily prevent individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or accessing firearms. These laws must respect due process, judicial review, and hold account individuals who may abuse such laws.

4) We need to institute a national waiting period for assault rifles. Individuals often purchase weapons in a fit of rage, harming themselves or others. Studies show that mandatory waiting periods reduced homicides by 17 percent. Gun suicides account for the majority of U.S. gun deaths. A waiting period to purchase an assault rifle is an acceptable sacrifice for responsible gun owners when it can prevent a mass shooting crime of passion or suicide.

The actor argued that his proposed plan was a “quintessentially American choice,” as it is calling for citizen’s rights to bear arms responsibly.

“The heinous bloodshed of innocent people cannot become bearable. If we continue to just stand by, we’re living a lie. With every right there comes a duty,” concluded.

“For ourselves, our children, and our fellow Americans—we have a duty to be responsible gun owners. Please do yours and protect the Second Amendment through gun responsibility. It’s time for real leaders to step up and do what’s right, so we can each and all just keep livin’.”