Green Converse, dresses identified Uvalde school shooting victims, says emotional McConaughey at White House
Matthew McConaughey holds a picture of Alithia Ramirez, 10, who was killed in the mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, as he speaks at the White House on Tuesday. AP
Actor and Uvalde, Texas, native Matthew McConaughey met with President Joe Biden on Tuesday, and urged more congressional action on gun violence in an emotional speech, sharing stories of those who were killed in last month's elementary school shooting.
Nineteen children and two teachers were shot to death at Robb Elementary School in McConaughey's hometown on May 24 by an 18-year-old gunman wielding a semi-automatic rifle.
He said every parent he spoke to expressed that "they want their children’s dreams to live on.”
"They want to make their loss of life matter,” McConaughey said.
He related the personal stories of a number of the victims.
He told the story of Maite Rodriguez, an aspiring marine biologist.
McConaughey's wife, Camila, sitting nearby, held Maite's green Converse sneakers, which had a red heart on the right toe to represent her love of nature.
"These are the same green Converse, on her feet, that turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting," McConaughey said.
He held up artwork from Alithia Ramirez, who dreamed of attending art school in Paris. And then there was Eliahna "Ellie” Garcia, who loved dancing and church and already knew how to drive tractors.
Ellie was looking forward to reading a Bible verse at an upcoming church service when she was killed.
McConaughey appeared to choke up several times while holding up photos of some of the child victims.
He talked about their families, what they were wearing on the day they were shot, and what they wanted to be when they grew up.
The actor described meeting a cosmetologist who was asked to prepare the victims for their open-casket funerals.
"They needed much more than makeup to be presentable. They needed extensive restoration. Why? Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an AR-15 rifle."
He gave a brief biography of each victim, slamming his fist on the lectern at one point to describe one of them.
"While we honour and acknowledge the victims, we need to recognise that this time seems that something is different," he said.
"There is a sense that perhaps there's a viable path forward. Responsible parties in this debate seem to at least be committed to sitting down and having a real conversation about a new and improved path forward."
McConaughey, who publicly weighed a run for governor in Texas last year but ultimately ruled it out, briefly met with Biden at the White House, according to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, then appeared at the daily news briefing.
The 52-year-old actor described growing up in the South Texas town.
"Uvalde is where I was taught to revere the power and the capability of the tool that we call a gun," he said.
"Uvalde is where I learned responsible gun ownership."
McConaughey said responsible gun owners are "fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals," and urged raising the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to 21.
Gun rights advocates say the Second Amendment of the Constitution guarantees the right to own and bear firearms.
Agencies
