Actor Matthew McConaughey may have spoken at a March for Our Lives gun control demonstration in his hometown of Austin, Texas, last month — but now he’s warning the movement may be “hijacked” by extremists looking to eliminate all guns.
While speaking to the press in Las Vegas at CinemaCon and promoting his new film “White Boy Rick,” the “Dazed and Confused” star touched on his thoughts about gun control and his own background with firearms.
“I’ve got a lot of friends who are gun owners. I’ve got a lot of friends who are NRA [members]. I grew up hunting. We had responsible gun ownership, but I was taught the right way to respect that tool,” he said. “At the same time, their petition that they were speaking about is a very good one. And I also fear that their campaign — they have to watch that they don’t get hijacked. Meaning — a lot of the crowd was for no guns at all. That was not the March for life. March for Our Lives was for rightful, just, responsible gun ownership — but against assault rifles, against unlimited magazines, and for following up on the regulations.”
Though the actor feared extremists would push gun control too far, he was hopeful that both sides of the debate could find a middle ground to talk.
“The two sides [have] got to talk. Because we both agree there’s an epidemic. We both agree something has got to change,” he said. “So I was for what they were marching for, and I wanted to speak to my hometown [at] the capital of my state … And also talk to the many men and women who I grew up with — I know that had the guns, that owned the guns, and say, ‘Hey, do we really — where can we reach across the aisle here? Find a compromise for the betterment of all of us?'”
McConaughey appears to advocate for some controls on guns — but at least he’s brave enough to deviate from the leftist flock and acknowledge that the idea of taking all guns out of the hands of lawful owners is ridiculous.
More stars who throw their weight behind movements such as March for Our Lives should take note — and be more cautious of embracing the more extreme wings of these leftist movements.
PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.
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