Dozens of people wait in line during Rand Paul's book signing event Friday at Barnes & Noble. (Photo by Miranda Pederson/Daily News)

When a line started forming Friday evening for U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s book signing at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 17-year-old Jordan Upton was the first in line.

Upton, of Bowling Green, was a supporter of Paul when he ran for Congress in 2010 but wasn’t able to cast a vote for him because he was too young. In November, he’ll get the chance to vote for the first time.

“It will feel grand, I’m sure,” he said.

He registered to vote about a month ago and recently worked on a voter registration drive at South Warren High School with a friend. He’ll turn 18 in October.

“It’s like (President John F.) Kennedy said, I mean, America’s being handed over to the next generation,” Upton said. “So, you know, we are that next generation. We need to be knowledgeable. We need to be able to exercise our ability to vote, so we really need to be responsible for the country.”

While waiting in line, he said it would be an honor to meet the Republican senator from Bowling Green, whose new book is titled “Government Bullies: How Everyday Americans are Being Harassed, Abused and Imprisoned by the Feds.”

“Mr. Paul is really doing a lot of good for the government,” Upton said. “Really trying to make it a more conservative government, a smaller government, and I think that’s a really good thing, so it’s nice that, you know, he’s going out and talking to people and energizing his base.”

Jack Loveday, 65, of Glasgow, took the book signing as an opportunity to give Paul a coin in honor of the company he served in the Vietnam War – Headquarters Company, Ninth Marines.

He said he wants the coin to serve as a reminder for Paul that there are people of Loveday’s generation who support him.

“We support what he stands for,” Loveday said. “We want to see our country honored again, and we feel like we’re losing a little of that.”

Paul doesn’t always follow the party line but acts on his own convictions, he said.

Loveday also requested an inscription on his copy of Paul’s book that reads in part: “I’ll run for president after Mitt finishes his two terms.”

“I got the commitment from him first,” he said, laughing.

Andy Sochor, 31, of Bowling Green, came to the book signing with his wife and four children, ages 1 to 8.

He appreciates Paul’s support for smaller government and reduced regulations, he said.

“We’ve talked to them about some of the things going on, and just from what we’ve been saying, they’ve gotten to be fans of Rand Paul and (his father, U.S. Rep.) Ron Paul,” Sochor said of his children.