Matthew McConaughey White House speech on the need for more gun control

US actor Matthew McConaughey has delivered a moving and powerful address at the White House on the need for “responsible” gun legislation.

His emotional appearance followed the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, last month, of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary, which was one of America’s worst school shootings.

Gun owner McConaughey, who was born in Uvalde, appeared to hold back tears and choke up, as he held photos of some of the child victims and talked about their families, what they were wearing on the day they were shot, and what they wanted to be when they grew up.

In the highly personal 22-minute speech to a silent White House press briefing room, the Hollywood star described how he and his wife Camilla had spent the past week with the grieving families and spoken at length about their loss, and the need for “making these lives matter”.

He went through a brief biography of each victim, at one point slamming his fist on the lectern in seeming frustration at the loss of life.

High school dropout Salvador Ramos went on a murderous rampage at the school with an assault rifle. He was eventually killed by law enforcement.

And while acknowledging Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms, McConaughey said he believed that constitutional right did not mean there could not also be effective gun control legislation.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES