When Matthew McConnaughey first learned of the devastating shooting in Robb Elementary, which is in Uvalde, Texas, where he grew up, he didn't skip a beat before springing into action.
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Alongside his wife, Camila Alves, the two immediately took a plane down to Texas, where they met with local law enforcement, its politicians, and families impacted by the tragedy to see how they could help.
The pair have spent the last six months since the shooting, which took the lives of nineteen students and two teachers, continuing their work with the Uvalde community, as well as in Washington D.C. advocating for better gun reform.
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Speaking with People Magazine as he was included in their People of the Year issue, the actor spoke of his work in gun reform, and gave rare insight into how he and Camila had the difficult conversations about it with their three children, Levi, fourteen, Vida, twelve, and Livingston, nine.
When asked whether his children came with him during his first visit to Uvalde following the incident, he explained: "Not at first. We knew it was going to be raw and that we were going into the belly of the beast."
However, it didn't take them long to extend their stay after meeting with grieving families, and looking back on his decision to include his children, he said: "We met some of the families informally, and they asked us, 'Can we spend some more time together?' And that's when we said, 'Okay, we got more to do here.'"
© Photo: Getty ImagesCamila and Matthew have been married since 2012 and they have three children together
Camila and Matthew also made the decision of taking their children not only to Uvalde, but to a victim's viewing at a funeral home, and detailing his decision to take them, after all three said they wanted to, he said: "My thought was… are you ready to look life in the eye and understand that death is part of it?"
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He added: "We tried to prepare them. I don't think it's too early to expose them in this most natural way.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe actor also gave an impassioned speech about gun reform during a press conference in The White House
"As a father, what do I hope they get out of it? Respect, more respect for their own life. More thanks and gratitude for the life they've got, for being able to go to school and come home safe from school another day," he said.
Looking back on how they reacted, he recalled: "They asked many questions, and we talked about it. And even in their youth, they got it."
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