AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Rep. Eric Swalwell isn’t exactly a household name. Despite his time in the House, he’s easily eclipsed by some of the first-term members of Congress like Alexandria Occasio-Cortez, among others.

In fact, the only way he seems to get any attention is when he makes some comment touting his radical anti-gun stance.

That’s the same anti-gun stance that the congressman claims is garnering him death threats.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., says he is getting death threats from people angry at the gun control legislation he has backed.

In a tweeted recording of a voicemail he says he received from an unknown caller, a man’s voice can be heard saying: “Eric Swalwell, here’s a little ditty for ya. Pop pop pop pop pop pop pop, 30-round clip, you’re all gonna drop.”

The man then continues in a profanity-laced tirade, saying “We’re going to war. And you’re gonna be the first [expletive] casualty.”

Swalwell said in a tweet that he’s not afraid of the caller. I can imagine he’s not, and I’ll get into why here in a moment.

First, let me say that if anyone who reads this is making any calls like this, knock it off. It doesn’t help, it doesn’t intimidate people into agreeing with you, and it’s wrong on every level.

That said, I don’t think anyone making a call like this is reading Bearing Arms or any other pro-gun publication out there. Why do I say that?

Well, because this sounds more like what the left thinks we would do rather than what we actually would do.

This is a pro-gun caller? Then why did he call it a “30-round clip.” It’s a recurring theme in pro-gun circles to cringe at the use of the word “clip” when “magazine” is the correct nomenclature. While some people do occasionally slip up, I’m not buying it in this case.

Especially with the whole “We’re going to war” bit. While pro-gun folks are more than willing to fight for what they believe, even willing to shed blood if need be, this isn’t how anyone seriously talks about that happening.

So no, I’m skeptical that this was anyone who is pro-gun.

Don’t get me wrong, Eric “Nuke ‘Em All” Swalwell is the kind of guy that most of our side can’t stand, and if he did get death threats, I’d get it. After all, he’s the one who invoked the possibility of nuking American citizens who refused to go along with gun confiscation. That still isn’t sitting well with me.

As such, I won’t completely rule out the possibility that some nimrod who thinks he’s helping is issuing threats, hence my comment above about knocking it off.

But in this day and age, there’s been one thing we’ve seen a lot of, and that’s “false flags.”

Take a look at every so-called “hate crime” that’s made headlines since President Trump was elected. You’ll find one pretty much universal theme to them. They all turned out to be hoaxes. They were lies perpetrated to make Trump supporters look like bigots.

How hard is it to imagine someone doing something similar to garner support for gun control?

That would explain the poor understanding of nomenclature and the caricature of the pro-gun side of the argument.

If it’s not, then I hope whoever is issuing the threats is caught and held up as an example of what not to do. While there’s a time and a place to eschew the ballot box and the soap box in favor of the cartridge box, that time isn’t that close.

Again, if you’re doing stuff like this or thinking about it, knock it the hell off.

But I’m fairly sure it’s not one of ours.