Matthew McConaughey has a suggestion for America鈥檚 conversation about gun safety
Matthew McConaughey is still fighting to make America鈥檚 school鈥檚 safer more than a year after a gunman killed two teachers and 19 children at Robb Elementary School in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.
Video above: Matthew McConaughey speaks about Uvalde victims
McConaughey, who was a visible and vocal advocate for the community in the aftermath of the shooting, along with his wife, Camila, has launched the to help schools across the country access funding to create safer learning environments.
鈥淢y wife was out of the country,鈥� McConaughey recalled of the Uvalde tragedy in an . 鈥淪he heard about the news, immediately writes me and says, 鈥榃e got to go down there.鈥� She cut her trip short, flew in. We packed up and headed out.鈥�
The couple spent time with families in Uvalde and worked to raise awareness of the impact of gun violence.
Not long after, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) in 2022, which approved funding for crisis intervention programs aimed at mental health services and school security.
McConaughey says he was told that three months after the Uvalde shooting, 12 schools in the area had applied for government funding but none had been given any.
Video below: Actor Matthew McConaughey eulogizes Uvalde victims
鈥淲hat are we doing?鈥� McConaughey said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a zero percent success rate. One, way too few applications. Number two, the 12 applications, we went zero for twelve?鈥�
鈥淭he government admits that it shouldn鈥檛 be this complicated. You got 14,000 something schools,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭his grant initiative is going to connect those districts to those billions of dollars that鈥檚 there, available, and wants to be used to make our kids safe.鈥�
McConaughey also has other ideas. 鈥淚鈥檇 change the word from [gun] 鈥榗ontrol鈥� to 鈥榬esponsibility,鈥欌� he said.
鈥淣o one wants to be controlled,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut responsibility is still something that we can all go, 鈥榊eah, I鈥檒l take responsibility.鈥� 鈥� The Second Amendment defenders could talk responsibility. They could look you in the eye and talk responsibility with someone from the other side of the aisle.鈥�