Braynon, whose district is less than an hour's drive south of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, said whether or not Florida's very pro-gun leadership wants to talk about guns, they don't really have a choice right now.
"Oh, I know there will be a debate," he said. "They're not going to be able to avoid that debate. That's not going to happen."
His remarks come two days after Florida House Democrats tried to force a vote on a proposed assault weapons ban, seemingly knowing they would come up short. Republicans easily shot down discussion as young witnesses to the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School watched. GOP lawmakers later called the vote "a stunt."
Braynon countered that the real political theater was GOP lawmakers' feigning interest in measures that the NRA doesn't support.
"I say some people are putting on a show… so that these kids think that maybe it'll end, and people will forget," he said. "We're going to keep doing stunts until they stop putting on a show."
Senate Democrats support a number of measures they think would help reduce mass shootings and other forms of gun violence, and the focus isn't just reducing access to guns. The list of proposals, sent out via press release, includes staffing additional law enforcement at schools, training teachers on responding to active shootings, banning "bump stocks," implementing a firearms registry, mandating trigger locks and other measures. It does not, however, include arming teachers, as President Trump has said he supports.
When Braynon spoke to Governor Rick Scott about the list of proposals Wednesday, Braynon said Scott didn't seem to know about the proposals — or who he was.
"I have to be honest, I don't know that he heard me," he said. "And I'll be even more honest. I'm not even sure that he knows who I am or what role I play in the legislature."
Gun safety, Braynon said, has been "a big issue" for Democrats for years, so Republicans shouldn't be getting all the credit for deciding they want to talk about it now.
While NRA-backed legislators carry guns around Tallahassee, talk about guns and pass bills that aim to boost gun ownership and sales, Braynon said, districts like his see the end result of gun proliferation.
"I've got people here in this capitol talking about guns, and carrying guns, and they've never been shot at," he said. "They've never had a gun pulled on them. They've never been in a hail of gunfire. And I'm going to tell you, you know, unfortunately, in my community, and [for] many of my friends, that's a weekly occurrence."
And it's been that way for a while.
"When I was a teenager, when we'd go to parties, parties got shot up all the time," he said. "I had to see the movie New Jack City twice in the '80s because the movie theater kept getting shot up. I've had guns pulled on me before. And in none of these situations did I think, you know, if I had a gun, this situation would come out better. If I'd had a gun, I'd have been shot and I might not be standing here today."
But inaction this year could have consequences for those who don't support more gun safety measures, he said.
"They finally are going to have to do something. And I say this: If they don't, I don't think many of them are going to be back next year," Braynon said. "Now, if you decide to buck this, you're just swimming into the blue wave. I'd be amazed if half of them come back if they decide to do nothing this time."
This article appears in Feb 22 – Mar 1, 2018.