No one grabs their "toys" more selfishly while screaming "No!!! Mine!!" than gun rights advocates.

 They consistently do so in the face of tragedies, of catastrophes, of horrific events where access to guns clearly is the proximate cause of the incidents. 

They consistently defer a "conversation" about gun control even when times such as those we are living through right now are clearly the best time to have such a (long overdue) conversation. 

Their loud braying and sick addiction to weapons is the reason that virtually anyone can buy a gun easily in Florida, but you'll still get arrested for smoking a joint. 

And they continue to trumpet the National Rifle Association's party line on the above topics, even though the NRA crafts legislation intended to protect and enrich the gun industry and gun manufacturers. They could not possibly care less about their rank-and-file members; they merely want to create a larger consumer base for the products of their corporate masters. Why else would our cowardly Legislature continue to pass laws that do nothing to increase safety but make it easier to buy and carry guns anywhere? 

Take the "Stand Your Ground" law, which has been in place here for seven years. Read the insightful series the Tampa Bay Times ran this summer on the people who actually "benefit" from this disturbing, dangerous law. The majority of those exonerated of murder or assault charges under Stand Your Ground are drug dealers and repeat criminals who would be incarcerated for these crimes in more sane states. They've used the law to escape indictment for killing or wounding others in their "line of duty," which involves frequent dust-ups and disagreements with their fellow professionals. See a segment of that series here: 

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/many-killers-who-go-free-with-florida-stand-your-ground-law-have-history/1241378

 That's what makes gun advocates' ridiculous insistence that we focus on "mental health issues" here as opposed to weapons control measures so -- well, ridiculous. The majority of gun-related crimes -- the overwhelming majority -- are committed by people without mental illnesses. 

Unless they are suggesting that everyone who commits a crime with a gun, or even uses a gun, is mentally ill, that argument seems a little insubstantial. And furthermore, since guns are so freely distributed and owned in Florida, what difference does a focus on mental health issues make in this regard? Anyone who has a bad day, is angry at a particular moment, or is indeed suffering from a mental disorder, is never far away from access to a gun. 

Gun advocates' behavior in this debate actually indicates that they have the psychology of children threatened with the confiscation of their toys. Not only is that an offensive and inappropriate stance to take given the events that have just transpired, but it actually raises questions about their own mental stability.