Matthew McConaughey is speaking out following the tragic shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas. The actor shared an emotional message following the incident, where 19 children, one teacher and one adult were killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School.
“As all of you are aware, there was another mass shooting today, this time in my hometown of Uvalde, Texas. Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” McConaughey declared.
The actor lived in the small town of Uvalde until he was 11 year old, located approximately 85 miles from San Antonio, with a population of less than 20,000, mainly identified hispanic or latino.
“The true call to action is now 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?’ We cannot exhale once again, make excuses and accept these tragic realities as the status quo,” McConaughey continued.
Explaining that, “As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it’s time we re-evaluate, and renegotiate our wants from our needs,” he insisted, “We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children’s issue.”
The Hollywood star returned to Uvalde in 2020 for the centennial celebration of the Uvalde Area Chamber of Commerce and brought his mother, a kindergarten teacher at St. Philip’s Episcopal School, to the event.
© GettyImages“This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we stand on, we all know we can do better. We must do better,” McConaughey wrote, “Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured.”
“And to those who dropped off their loved ones today not knowing it was goodbye, no words can comprehend or heal your loss, but if prayers can provide comfort, we will keep them coming,” he concluded.
