McConaughey Calls for Bipartisan Answer to Gun Violence

WASHINGTON — A week after appearing on Capitol Hill, in the Oval Office and in the White House briefing room, academy award winning actor Matthew McConaughey is continuing to press his case for bipartisan action on guns and gun violence.
On Friday, the Uvalde, Texas, native posted a black-and-white video on social media showing images of he and wife Camila Alves meeting with over 30 members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.
Among those featured prominently in the piece are Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Corey Booker, D-N.J., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Reps. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in addition to President Joe Biden.
The actor had come to the nation’s Capitol in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde earlier this month which killed 19 students and 2 adults.
Throughout his three-day stay here, he repeatedly talked about mental health, safer schools and the need to keep guns out of the hands of irresponsible individuals.
It is a message he repeats in the video, pointedly noting that by law, the individuals he referenced, “still have access to them today.”
The stark video closes with the straightforward message, “For ourselves, for our children, Republicans, Democrats and our fellow Americans … It’s time to be responsible.”
McConaughey, however, is evidently doing more than tending the social media fire to keep his message alive.
Politico reported earlier this week that the actor has hired a team of lobbyists at Avisa Partners to represent him here.
The registration, filed on Wednesday, is under the name of an Encino, California, holding company registered to McConaughey, Barefoot Money Inc.
The form also shows, Politico said, that the group of Washington veterans at Avisa Partners will lobby on issues relating to “responsible gun ownership.”
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue