Some stories cause me to harken back to the old days of Jeff Foxworthy’s famous punchline — “HERE’S YOUR SIGN”.
This is one of those stories.
Let’s cut right to the chase. The judge in this situation fully acknowledged the young man being sentenced in his courtroom had acted in self-defense — both for himself, and others.
A man had just been shot and killed right in front of him after a fight erupted in a Michigan mall between two others.
Martinez Long dropped the murderous attacker in his tracks, even while the man continued to spray bullets randomly at other bystanders in the mall.
One other person was hit before it was all over, but lived to tell the tale.
Still, months later, the judge questioned the PRUDENCE and RATIONALE of Martinez Long for being armed in the first place.
Um — hello!!!?
Some people simply can not see the handwriting on the wall, even when it slaps them right in the face!
And what was Long convicted of and being sentenced for, you might ask?
It certainly wasn’t for putting down the attacker in self-defense.
It was for simply having the right tool for the job on hand to begin with, according to this coverage from the Fox News affiliate out of Detroit:
Is it just me, or does that sound like a dangerous line of reasoning for a judge to take, considering the circumstances?
Here’s a clip of the judge’s out-of-touch comments, alongside pictures of the two men who were killed in the gunfight:
If you didn’t catch it, the judge brazenly scoffed at the idea that anyone would ever have need of protection requiring a gun in a mall.
Say it with me, one more time: “Here’s your sign!”
Law enforcement, the prosecutor, and the judge all came to the same conclusion.
Martinez Long had acted lawfully in self-defense when he stopped the potential mass-casualty event kicking off right in front of him.
But, alas, he did not have the proper paperwork completed before hand, nor the required fee to go along with it.
Guilty! And… shame, shame — for presuming to exercise your God-given rights without the proper permission from the governing overlords!
I should point out that Long was 19 at the time of the shooting.
Even if he’d wanted to jump through those unconstitutional (ASININE) hoops, he couldn’t have.
Michigan’s concealed carry law requires applicants to be at least 21 years old.
It is admittedly easy for me, a Texan who regularly walks into the local Walmart openly strapped, to write so condescendingly about this Michigan judge and his take on being armed in public — concealed, or otherwise.
But still, I write. And I’m not the only one.
The National Associate for Gun Rights had this to say following the judge’s ‘poor judgement’ concerning his own logic, via their X account:
Here’s the full text of that scathing response for easier reading:
The man had enough foresight to imagine the possibility of violence.
He had the prudence to prepare for it in advance.
And he decisively and morally dealt with it when that violence showed up, to the benefit of everyone in the vicinity who were potential victims — had he not done so.
And now he is being punished for it. He was arrested and jailed, convicted, and sentenced… with probation now laying before him.
Another X user responded to that take by the National Association for Gun Rights with an even more concise one-two punch:
He needed the gun because a man was already shooting. That is the whole case.https://t.co/cYqJmXNUtm
— Vitruvius Republic(@realMAG1775) September 20, 2026
Correction — that SHOULD be the whole case.
Because as I already pointed out, even the prosecutors in the case had come to the conclusion that Martinez Long had acted lawfully in responding to the threat, according to a press release detailing more about the shooting from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office:
Here’s another longer clip of the sentencing that includes additional details of the PUNISHMENT and oversight that Long now faces for his trouble:
In that clip, the judge pointed out that the fight which erupted in front of Long was determined to be gang related.
So there’s the possibility of retribution for him to worry about.
The judge also iterated that Long had no prior record, and his record regarding this conviction would be expunged if he navigated his 2-year parole successfully.
Martinez Long stopped a gang-related gunfight and prevented further violence, had never before been in trouble with the law, and yet he now has to prove himself a model citizen to the authorities as payback by order of a judge.
Excuse me, but that’s not a very good look for freedom, judge.
And it’s not a good look for what can happen to you for stepping up and acting with personal responsibility in a world increasingly full of bad people requiring good people with guns to stand ready to stop them.
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[ H/T WLT Report ]
