Sam Amico
Actor Matthew McConaughey has often portrayed characters that could be viewed as reasonable. And when not at center stage and out from in front of the cameras, McConaughey has gained a reputation as a celebrity with perspective.
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Now, McConaughey, 52, has worked with lawmakers in Washington D.C. He’s saying most Americans really do want politicians on both sides to work together and find common ground. As much as they did when instituting gun legislation following the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
A proud Texan, McConaughey wrote about his thoughts on gun control and other hot topics in an op-ed for Esquire.
“I support the Second Amendment. I believe we should have access to guns for hunting, sport and self-defense,” McConaughey wrote. “I believe all firearm purchases should be subject to an extensive background check, and unless you’re in the military, you should be 21 to purchase an assault rifle. I believe that extreme risk protection orders, or ‘red-flag laws,’ that respect due process should be the law of the land and that firearm-safety courses should be mandatory.”
Matthew McConaughey Calls for Action After Uvalde, Texas
“Most of my friends and neighbors in Texas agree with these positions, and many of them also agree that our Second Amendment rights have been getting hijacked by troubled men with bad intent,” he noted. “It seems we have forgotten that our rights come with obligations – what’s more, that our rights depend on our fulfillment of those obligations. To do nothing is more than irresponsible; it’s un-American. Our firearm policy is failing us, and we are failing it.”
Matthew McConaughey added that many politicians have lost sight of their “values and vision.” Perhaps their desire to serve the people.
“It seems that each party is so harmfully consumed by despising the opposition that they’ve become little more than counterpunches – so focused on the parry and the party defense that they’ve become reactive by default,” he explained. “They’ve lost sight of their own values and vision, thereby ceding their power to the fringes. That’s a problem.”
“Because most Americans, myself included, don’t stand on the political fringes. We are reasonable and responsible, and we share more values than we’re being told we do – and we believe that meeting each other in the middle is in service of the greater good. We have the majority, we have the numbers.”
McConaughey has starred in films such as The Lincoln Lawyer, Dallas Buyers Club, Dazed and Confused, Magic Mike, Mud, The Beach Bum. He recently voiced Buster Moon in Sing 2.
