Matthew McConaughey's call for new gun laws draws media praise, but uphill climb remains for reforms he wants

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Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey makes White House appearance to urge 'gun responsibility'

The panel on 'The Five' reacts to longtime actor's heartfelt response, opportunity to change the messenger to a less partisan one.

The White House press briefing rarely gets live cable news coverage in the Biden era, but that changed Tuesday thanks to an unusual figure at the podium: actor Matthew McConaughey.

The native of Uvalde, Texas, where the horrific school shooting that killed 19 children took place last month, stood in the briefing room spot normally occupied by press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and said the time had come for bipartisan gun reforms. Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC all aired his comments live, his remarks drew extensive attention online, and the three major networks all covered his speech on at least their morning or evening newscasts.

"We want secure and safe schools, and we want gun laws that won’t make it so easy for the bad guys to get these damn guns… We need background checks," McConaughey said. "We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21. We need a waiting period for those rifles. We need red flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them."

He didn't target just politicians in his remarks, also hitting the press for "sensationalized" coverage of the issue.

Actor Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas as well as a father and a gun owner, becomes emotional as he holds up a picture of 10-year-old victim Alithia Ramirez as he speaks to reporters about the school shooting in Uvalde during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2022.  (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

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"We need to invest in mental healthcare. We need safer schools. We need to restrain sensationalized media coverage," he said. "We need to restore our family values. We need to restore our American values. And we need responsible gun ownership—responsible gun ownership."

He also shared heartbreaking stories of the slain children and their dreams – in one memorable image, his wife Camilla held a pair of green Converse sneakers worn by 10-year-old victim Maite Rodriguez, as he recounted how she hoped to be a marine biologist. He grew emotional, tearing up and at one point slamming the lectern in anger.

McConaughey impressed media figures across the spectrum, as ABC's "Good Morning America" called the remarks "moving," and CNN's "Reliable Sources" media newsletter said he "stopped viewers in their tracks when he stood before the White House press corps." 

Former NBC reporter Heidi Przybyla tweeted, "McConaughey's emotional rendering of the slain children, *from the White House podium*, isn't something we've seen," while on Fox News' "The Five," Judge Jeanine Pirro said "it was delivered brilliantly. What he did was he had both the intellectual as well as the emotional pieces combined… He protected the Second Amendment. He recognized that mental health is an issue."

However, whether his impassioned stance that this time, something is "different" will actually move the needle on any bipartisan laws being passed is another thing entirely. Democrats and Republicans are miles apart on most gun proposals, and the former has the narrowest of margins in the House and Senate. A small group of Senators is currently debating a package of possible reforms that could get enough votes to pass both chambers.

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"I'd imagine McConaughey's passionate speech coupled with his personal connection to the town of Uvalde, Texas will have a greater effect on pressuring lawmakers to come up with some kind of legislative response than the average celebrity lobbying appearance," The Reload's Stephen Gutowski told Fox News Digital. "However, it's unlikely to be some sort of turning point. Congress is already under immense pressure and in discussions on what policies might actually pass."

Actor Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves McConaughey walk between meetings with lawmakers about gun policy after the recent mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. June 7, 2022.  (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Gutowski, a licensed gun owner and instructor in addition to being a renowned firearms journalist, said only one of the reforms McConaughey put forward had a realistic chance of passing: so-called "red flag" laws, which allow courts to temporarily order the removal of guns from people they believe are a threat to themselves or others. Under then-Gov. Rick Scott, R., Florida famously passed such a law in the wake of the Parkland massacre in 2018.

Jacob Charles, the executive director of the Center for Firearms Law, agreed the red flag proposals had generated the most bipartisan interest. 

"In terms of red flag laws, I think that is a policy that has seemed to generate more bipartisan agreement than other proposals around firearms," he told Fox News Digital. "From my vantage point and what folks have said about that, that has engendered less concern for constitutional issues regarding due process. It's especially effective at reducing suicides because they’re removing guns from a situation where suicidal acts can be impulsive."

Whether McConaughey's pleas to get some of his other reforms across the finish line will reach conservatives where they live is unclear. The Texas-twanged McConaughey is known for his Christian faith and spiritual outlook, in addition to his acting chops – he won an Oscar for the 2013 film "Dallas Buyers Club" – so he doesn't fit the stereotype of the far-left, loyal Democrat-voting Hollywood type. 

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McConaughey discussed being a gun owner himself on Tuesday, growing up to revere and respect guns in his youth in Uvalde. He describes himself as a political centrist, and he's been critical of the extremes of both sides of the aisle. 

Perhaps his most noteworthy comments came as him representing himself as one of the "responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals." He's a long way from Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke, who has reversed himself multiple times in the past few years on severe gun control measures, recently calling again for confiscation of AR-15s.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre introduces actor Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas as well as a father and a gun owner, to speak to reporters about mass shootings in the United States during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2022.  (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

"McConaughey did also talk about reforming our culture and preventing broken families as another response to the shooting which may give him more credibility with Republican lawmakers and more conservative voters alike," Gutowski said. "But, given the entrenched nature of the debate with very strongly held and conflicting priorities on either side, it's hard to know how much impact a different tone or approach towards advocating gun restrictions will ultimately have. With Congress as close as it's been in decades to a deal on a new federal gun law, it's not impossible McConaughey's speech has some impact. It's not likely to be a game changer either."

Whatever happens, McConaughey believes the majority of the country is closer together on major issues than they appear in politics or the press, and that includes on guns.

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"I think we’re being told we’re more divided than we are," he told Fox News' "Special Report" anchor Bret Baier on Tuesday. "I think that the veil over the masses’ eyes, I think we got the numbers. We've got to pull that veil off, quit drinking the Kool-Aid, because we’re hearing it from both sides, extreme right and extreme left, and they have the microphones."