Sen. Rand Paul came to Louisville Friday to again discuss gun violence in the city and to present community activist Christopher 2X with an official copy of an entry he made in the Congressional Record featuring areport from 2X's Game Changers group.
Thereport detailshow gun violence impacts children.
Paul entered Game Changers' report into the Congressional Record a year ago, in March 2020, and originally wanted to publicly give 2X a framed copy of it last year. The pandemic delayed those plans, but they finally came together Friday morning at the Galt House Hotel.
"I'm a 'glass is half-full' kind of guy," Kentucky's junior senator said. "I know this hasn't been an easy year in Louisville and there continue to be problems, but as we look at the problems, you know, I want to see the glass half-full. I want to see how we fix problems.
More: Sen. Rand Paul: Stronger penalties, not gun control, needed to stem gun violence
"The answers aren't always easy," Paul continued. "How do you fix violence in Louisville? How do you fix violence in America? ... This is an ongoing problem. But I think we need people with optimism, and I think Chris has that optimism."
Christopher 2X speaks during an appearance with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on March 19, 2021. Both were on hand at the Galt House East in Louisville to talk about gun violence and its effects on youth.(Photo: Pat McDonogh / Courier Journal)
2X thanked Paul and also announced an academic group wants to use Game Changers' report for a curriculum for grade-school kids concerning this public health crisis and the need for early intervention with children instead of waiting until they hit high school.
"So, not only has this report been entered into the U.S. Congressional Record, but it's still got legs to it," 2X said.
After presenting 2X with a copy of the Congressional Record entry Friday, Paul also joined a private conversation with local community advocates to learn more about GroupViolence Intervention, a policy approach aimed at reducing such violence.
Russell Coleman, a Game Changers board member and former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, led that discussion Friday and also spoke at that morning's press conference about how the nonprofit's report on violence's impact on childrenis about listening.
More: US Attorney Coleman resigns, but group violence intervention program to survive
More: 170-plus killings and few answers: Louisville besieged by record homicides and gun violence
"This report is about listening to voices that oftentimes are not heard," he said."It's about listening to what the impact is to those numbers that tend to wash over us."
"Listening it's not about R's or D's.It's going to neighborhoods where we have not listened," he said."It's about humbling ourselves and saying,'We have to do a better job.'"
Before Paul sat down for a private talk with Coleman and others about gun violence,hetook questions from journalists about various issues, includinghis tense exchange Thursday with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government's top infectious diseases expert.
Paul said he has lost friends toCOVID-19 and recognizes it's a serious disease. He wants to encourage people to get the coronavirus vaccine, because it's effective, but argued they shouldn't have to wear a mask once they've been immunized.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people who've previously been infected with COVID-19, as well as those who've been vaccinated against the virus, still should wear masks in public for now.
Paul, who caught the coronavirus last year, has not worn a mask on the Senate floor or at other public events, including his appearance in Louisville this week.
"If Dr. Fauci comesup with evidence that shows me that some new variant is here and thousands of people are dying and ... our hospitals are overrun with people who have already had it (COVID-19) or been vaccinated, then we should listen to him," Paul said Friday.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., answers questions from he media following a press conference in Louisville on March 19, 2021.(Photo: Pat McDonogh / Courier Journal)
"...But until that day happens, I think we really shouldn't live in fear," he told reporters.
Kentucky officials announced this week that someone who'd been vaccinated was hospitalized in the state after an outbreak of a new COVID-19 variant at a nursing home.
When The Courier Journal asked him about that Friday, Paul said: "I think there are exceptions to every rule, and what I'm looking for is something that is a public health concern."
Paul also said Friday: "And I think Dr. Fauci is probably well-intended, but he is I think he's overkill. I mean, he needs to dial it back a little bit."
Reach reporter Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter:@morganwatkins26.
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Sen. Rand Paul comes to Louisville to meet with Christopher 2X, others on gun violence - Courier Journal