McConaughey pledges further action to ‘make our schools and our children safer’ after Uvalde shooting
Actor Matthew McConaughey holds a picture or Alithia Ramirez, 10, who was killed in the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, as he speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in Washington.
Matthew McConaughey says his work related to the last year’s school shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, isn’t done, vowing to help unveil an initiative aimed at getting schools grants to help curb gun violence.
“Today marks the one-year anniversary since the bipartisan Safer Communities Act was signed into law,” the “Dallas Buyers Club” actor said in a video posted Sunday on Twitter.
President Biden last June signed the legislation, which was drafted in response to mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, N.Y.
Nineteen children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School were killed in Uvalde.
The bill included funding for school safety resources, expanded background checks for buyers under the age of 21, penalties for straw purchases of firearms, and new protections for domestic violence victims.
“This legislation was a direct response to the tragic events in Uvalde, Texas, where lawmakers from both sides of the aisle joined forces to prioritize community safety and protect our children. The bill allocated additional federal school safety grants amounting to billions of dollars,” McConaughey, who delivered an impassioned plea for “real change” on gun violence during an appearance at a White House press briefing just days after the May 2022 shooting, said in the video.
The Academy Award winner and founder of the nonprofit Just Keep Livin Foundation said he and his wife, Camila, have been “been working on a program aimed to assist school districts across the nation access those grants — those grants that are going to make our schools and our children safer.”
“During our visit to Uvalde, the grieving parents of the children who were killed made a heartfelt request: They said, ‘Make their lives matter,’” McConaughey, 53, recalled.
“Camila and I believe this initiative is a significant step towards fulfilling their wishes,” McConaughey said, teasing that he would have a “lot more to unveil” about the project in the months to come.
“Let’s make it a priority to do what we can to keep our children as safe as possible, schools, where we send them to learn,” McConaughey said.