Matthew McConaughey Promotes ‘Gun Responsibility’ In New Op-Ed

In a new piece for a local Texas paper, Matthew McConaughey called for legislative action against gun violence. He curiously abandoned the common phrasing of “Gun Control,” in this op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman, and instead pitched a slightly more lax set of policies under the umbrella he called “Gun Responsibility.”

It read as an interesting attempt to reach out to more passionate gun owners in his home state of Texas, though still painfully inadequate in terms of other legislation that’s been implemented in other countries.

“There is a difference between control and responsibility. The first is a mandate that can infringe on our right; the second is a duty that will preserve it. There is no constitutional barrier to gun responsibility,” McConaughey wrote.

The actor concretely refuted the talking points of gun control opponents. “The need for mental health care, school safety, the prevalence of sensationalized media coverage, and the decaying state of American values are all long-term societal factors that must be addressed, but right now, we don’t have the luxury of time,” he said.

What are the pillars that make up the actor’s new platform of Gun Responsibility? He first said he supports background checks, which is a great common-sense measure. “Eighty-eight percent of Americans support this, including a lot of responsible gun owning Texans,” he said.

The Dallas Buyers Club actor didn’t go as far as calling for a full ban on assault weapons but said guns like the AR-15 should have an age restriction of 21 unless you’re in the military. He noted that the Uvalde shooter purchased two AR-15s on his eighteenth birthday. “He obeyed the law. Had the law been different, perhaps I wouldn’t be writing this today,” he said. Another item of Gun Responsibility relating to assault weapons he mentioned positively was the proposal for a waiting period to purchase them.

McConaughey also supported the implementation of more sweeping Red Flag Laws, which he said: “should be the law of the land.” He explained that these laws allow people’s loved ones or members of the police to petition to have their access to firearms removed, and almost 20 states have already enacted these measures.

McConaughey said the choice Americans face is “not a choice between guns or no guns. It’s the responsible choice. It’s the reasonable choice. It’s a quintessentially American choice.”