What is your position on people owning guns?

My position is that law abiding citizens should be allowed to possess guns. I remember after a school shooting, one parent said that the gun is the problem. While I understand the reaction, but there is a way to reduce gun crime while allowing guns, and that it through better regulations. Think of American police forces that have a high rate of gun ownership (as required for their duties), and yet we don't hear high gun crime being committed by cops. I credit most of this to the regulations and background checks (which are periodic and not just one time) that cops have to go through. These standards should be a required for anyone wanting to own a gun.
 
Is separation of Church and State good or bad for America?

I don't believe that a complete separation of Church and State is good because the American government should be able to accept good religious standards. Any good standard or principle should be on the table for consideration of public policy. If anything, the American government already accepts religious standards but they don't label it religious. There's also not always a fine line differentiating between religious standards and secular standards since they both deal with the same matters, at times.
 
Is consciousness a product of the brain or something greater or separate?

I don't believe that consciousness is a product of the brain because it has no form nor function to inextricably tie it to the brain. In terms of form, consciousness seems drastically different than the brain, and it is also unlike all physical matter in the Universe. For instance, all of the physical matter of the Universe is observable and measurable from the third-person point of view, while consciousness cat be observed in the same way. That's why we have to study the mind differently than the brain. In terms of function, consciousness has no necessary function in the brain. A lot of the functions that people think that consciousness is needed for can actually be carried out by the brain (or w/out our awareness of it).
 
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