Addressing crime, foreign aid and gun laws with Sen. Rand Paul

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWSNOW) — Senator Rand Paul joining Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton to discuss many topics pertaining to the city, including crime.

“As much as I’m for gun rights, I’m not for gun rights if your shooting into someone’s house or if you shoot somebody,” Paul said.

Adding that it should be a felony to shoot into someone’s home, but guns should never end up in the wrong hands in the first place.

“The highest risk people to shoot somebody,” he asked. “Somebody that’s already committed a crime with a gun and now they’re trying to buy a gun again. I would think that we should throw the book at them and really prosecute those people.”

The senator said he is proud of how Lexington is handling crime, and he’s excited to see the homicide rate decreasing in the city.

“I was excited to learn that Lexington’s homicide rate has gone down dramatically this year,” he said.

Although, he says there is still work to be done.

“Of the hundred thousand people who try to buy guns who are felons, I think we prosecuted twelve,” he said. “Twelve! Out of a hundred thousand, so I think there is the possibility that we could do better.”

He says that starts with spending money, which is why he says he’s working hard in D.C. to keep money in the United States and funnel some of that to Kentucky.

“We have a $1.2 billion fund for Afghanistan reconstruction,” Paul said. “I don’t know about everybody else, but I’m kind of tired of sending our money overseas, and I think we could spend some of that money here.”

Another state leader tired of sending money overseas is Paul’s Kentucky constituent Representative Thomas Massie; he led the charge with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson for adding aid to Israel and Ukraine in a recent budget bill.

Massie taking to ‘x’ saying that now the Jewish lobbying group AIPAC is spending 300-thousand dollars on ads to oust him next election.

Senator Rand Paul’s thoughts on the recent dispute:

“Washington, they just add on to the borrowing, and it’s getting so big I don’t think we can do it. So, Massie and myself supported aid to Israel if it was taken from somewhere else in the budget, but we didn’t support borrowing it. I think that’s just a fiscally responsible position.” \

Paul adding that cities don’t have the luxury of borrowing money which is why he says he’s focused on bringing more money back to the bluegrass.