Why do you call him a gun banner? I haven't heard that.
It happened when he was running for the Libertarian nomination.
“The nomination was strongly contested by two other candidates, Austin Petersen and John McAfee. Austin Petersen came in second, John McAfee came in third. When Johnson won the nomination, Austin Peterson pledged his support, and he did so with a dramatic flourish. From libertyhangout.org:
As a token of good faith, Austin gave Johnson a replica of George Washington’s flintlock pistol, to let him know that he has Austin’s full support in the general election. Tearing up on the front stage of the convention floor, Austin said to Gary as he presented him with the pistol, “You have my sword, and you have my gun.”
In a video, Austin Petersen explains that the gun is a prized possession, and that he is giving it to Gary Johnson. The pistol is a flintlock replica of one of George Washington’s guns. It thus has multiple symbolic meanings to Second Amendment supporters. It represents liberty, limited government, the Second Amendment, and the Constitution that George Washington helped to write.
It was a dramatic bit of political theater.
The Libertarian Presidential candidate, Johnson threw it in the trash. The pistol, as part of a matched pair of firing replicas, sells for about $2,500.”