(AP) — Actor Matthew McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers on Tuesday. He responded by calling on Americans to act now to control an “epidemic” of mass shootings.
“Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” McConaughey posted on his Instagram account. “We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo.”
The actor doesn’t describe any specific laws or policies he wants adopted. He doesn’t mention gun control.
“As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it’s time we re-evaluate,” he wrote. “We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground.”
“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.”
