ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Actor Matthew McConaughey called mass shootings "an epidemic we can control" following the tragedy at an elementary school in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.
At least 19 children and two adults were killed Tuesday in the same fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary School, Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety told CNN. The shooting is the deadliest at a U.S. school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut in December 2012.
McConaughey called upon Americans to ask themselves, "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?"
President Joe Biden in a televised address to the nation Tuesday evening said "we have to act" after this latest mass shooting — and many others in recent years that have spurred condolences but no legislative action. Several polls show, including this March 2021 Morning Consult/Politico survey, that the overwhelming majority of voters support requiring all gun purchasers to go through a background check.
“When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” Biden said. The issue, however, remains divisive as the president was booed at a campaign event in Georgia hosted by Herschel Walker, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, The Associated Press noted.
Read McConaughey's full statement below:
"As you all are aware there was another mass shooting today, this time in my home town of Uvalde, Texas. Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us.
"The true call to action now 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?" We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo.
"As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate, and renegotiate our wants from our needs. We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children's issue.
"This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better. We must do better. 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."