The Parkland school shooting was a terrible, heinous act by a person who, in my opinion, deserves the death penalty.

Coming as it did during the closing weeks of the 2018 legislative session, the Legislature was forced to address the issue in a fashion that is little more than window dressing.

Sadly, it won’t stop this from happening again because the solution didn’t focus enough attention on the crux of the problem.

This isn’t a gun issue despite what students, parents and others want to make it.

The Leon County Commission is scheduled to conduct a public hearing Tuesday night to discuss a proposed gun show loophole ordinance pushed by Commissioner Mary Ann Lindley.

I’ve known Mary Ann for years and when she last suggested this bad idea, I called her, and she later withdrew the proposal.

Why is this idea wrong-headed and counter-productive?

Because it feeds into the unwarranted belief that it will do something about gun violence.

Recently, we have seen the significant impact of the opioid epidemic all over the United States. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott issued a statewide public health emergency last year.

September's strike of Hurricane Irma was one of the strongest storms Florida has ever seen. Every region of the state was affected in some way by the storm, which thus far has caused nearly $8 billion in insured property losses.

While $8 billion is no small number, had the storm stayed on its original forecast track just 50 to 100 miles east of its eventual path -- had it directly hit Miami-Dade County and traveled up the entire peninsula, losses easily could have been topped $100 billion.

Without a doubt, one of the most controversial and highly misunderstood bills passed by the 2018 Florida Legislature involved public access to Florida’s beaches contained in House Bill 631. 

I have a recommendation for the Constitutional Revision Commission: Drop consideration of proposal 91 to establish a constitutional ban on oil and natural gas exploration in state waters. The justification for proposal 91 is quickly nullified with the lightest application of scrutiny.

In the final weeks of the 2018 legislative session, immense tragedy struck a quiet community right here in our state. Our elected officials rightfully focused their remaining time and energy on ensuring school safety and addressing mental health issues in the wake of the Parkland school shooting.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., led a group of U.S. Senators this week in a letter urging U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to reaffirm America’s commitment to democratic principles and human rights in Egypt ahead of their presidential election later this month. 

Controlling the public narrative is the most important tool of propaganda. And after the horrendous Florida school massacre, the public narrative in the mainstream media and "correct" political circles has been to portray guns as the villain, and to call for more restrictive gun-control laws. It is all so predictable.