Gun control Matthew McConaughey

 

WATCH LIVE: The White House holds a press conference with actor and Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey

Actor Matthew McConaughey will meet with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a press conference today to make remarks.

The press conference is scheduled to begin at 1:45 a.m. ET. Watch the event in the player above.

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McConaughey is from Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman massacred 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School on May 24.

McConaughey's appearance comes as President Joe Biden meets with Senator Chris Murphy, a key Democratic negotiator for a Congressional agreement on gun control. Murphy has spent most of his career working to curb the nation's mass shooting scourge after the heartbreaking slaughter of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary in his home state of Connecticut a decade ago.

"Enough," Biden said in a televised address last week, urging Congress to act.

Senators have met privately in a small bipartisan group led by Murphy and Republican Sen. John Cornyn, trying to find a compromise that could actually become law.

But the legislature has been here before — unable to pass substantial gun safety legislation for decades, given the strong objections of Congressional Republicans, some Conservative Democrats and the fierce lobby of gun owners and the National Rifle Association. No major legislation has come into force since the 1994 ban on assault weapons, which has since expired.

The package under discussion has fallen far short of the comprehensive measures for a ban on assault weapons or universal background checks that are popular among Americans and advocated by gun safety groups but opposed by Republicans.

Instead, the senators are focusing on gradual policy changes through a system that would provide states with funds and other incentives to strengthen safety on school grounds, provide more mental health services for young people, and possibly encourage states to pursue red flag laws to keep firearms out of the hands of people who would cause harm.

"I'm optimistic that we can get more than 60 votes - but the question is what this package looks like," Cornyn told reporters as the lawmaker arrived back in town on Monday from a week-long break.

Cornyn was referring to the 60-vote threshold needed in the 50-50 Senate to advance legislation beyond a filibuster that can block almost any bill.

The Texas senator said he is preparing to brief his colleagues on the status of the negotiations at their weekly Senate dinner on Tuesday. However, he warned Democrats not to speed up the process, saying "arbitrary deadlines" were no help in the talks.

While senators are reluctant to raise the age requirement for gun purchases from 18 to 21, as has happened in some states, an alternative idea is emerging to open the records of juvenile offenders to search for problem spots before adults are allowed to buy guns.

Murphy said Cornyn raised a legitimate concern that law enforcement agencies often don't have access to youth records when making a decision about a background check.

"This clearly seems to be something that we should fix and address," Murphy said. “This is certainly part of our conversation. It's complicated because different states have different rules when it comes to youth records.”

The proposals are gaining traction, but they also raise concerns from Democrats and some advocacy groups, who are urging Senators to do more and faster to stem the tide of mass shootings across the country.