Ben Carson on Church and State, Gun Control, States and Welfare

___Our founding fathers understood this and wisely instituted a policy of separation of church and state, which is totally different from the concept of separation of God and state. (America The Beautiful, Tolerance and Accommodation, p192).

http://rightwingconspiracypolitics.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-separation-of-church-and-state.html

___Only law-abiding citizens are affected by legislation imposing gun control. The criminals really don't care what the law says, which is why they are criminals. Confiscating the guns of American citizens would violate the Constitution as well as rendering the citizenry vulnerable to criminals and tyrants.

___Each of our fifty states has its own unique characteristics, and people reside in a given state because they enjoy the atmosphere and the camaraderie of like-minded people. The individuality of our states is immensely valuable and provides a host of options for all of our citizens, who can freely move to any state of their choice. If the federal government becomes too dominant, it will try to create uniformity to make domination of the states much easier. This [10th] amendment prevents that kind of power grab. Source: A More Perfect Union, 2015, pp 168-9.

___A truly moral nation enacts policies that encourage personal responsibility and discourage self-destructive behavior by not subsidizing people who live irresponsibly and make poor choices. We simply cannot afford welfare programs for able-bodied people who make unwise choices and expect other people to pay for it.