As Democrat presidential hopeful Eric Swalwell talks of banning whole categories of firearms and jailing gun owners who do not comply only one response seems apropos–“Come and Take It.”

Swalwell has been very open about his desire to implement a ban on “assault weapons,” a politically-inspired moniker for the millions upon millions of commonly-owned semiautomatic firearms currently possessed by law-abiding citizens.

On May 21, 2018, Breitbart News reported Swalwell saying he wanted to ban “assault weapons” via a buyback scheme in which those who did not comply would face criminal prosecution. Nearly a year later–on April 14, 2019–CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Swalwell if criminal prosecution means Americans who held on to their guns would go to jail. Swalwell responded, “They would.”

In his benevolence, Swalwell did leave open a second option wherein gun owners could hand their firearms over to hunting clubs and gun ranges for safe storage but the point was clear–gun owners would be forced to surrender the firearms targeted in Swalwell’s arbitrary ban.

It is here that the brave citizens of Gonzales, Texas, provide us with an option that gun grabbers like Swalwell consistently overlook; a option summed up by the motto, “Come and Take It.”

During his May 4, 2018, speech to the NRA convention President Trump referenced the example of Gonzales to highlight the people, saying:

In 1835 soldiers from General Santa Anna’s army marched into the little Texas town of Gonzales and ordered those Texans to surrender their small cannon that they relied on to protect their lives and protect their homes. The Texans refused! They were not about to give up their only means of self-defense.

He continued:

In response, Santa Anna’s army returned with a large group of additional people. They had men all over the place…[but] this time they were met by dozens of Texans…who had rushed to Gonzales to defend their rights and their freedom. As Santa Anna’s men watched from a distance those brave Texans raised a flag for all to see. On the banner they painted a cannon along with four words that echoed through the ages. It said, “Come and Take It.”

The people of Gonzales were not taking an offensive posture. Far from it, they were letting Santa Anna and his army know they had no intention of giving up their means of self-defense. From 1835 till now the message remains the same and perhaps today, more than ever, it is important to speak those four powerful words: “Come and Take It.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.