So, let’s start with the setup, which is given by this ‘Fox 2 Detroit’ article:
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) September 9, 2026
Martinez Long was 19 years old on July 3, 2026, when he went to a mall called the Fairlane Town Center, located in Dearborn, Michigan. Somehow a fight broke out—through no fault of Long’s own—and Cameron Watkins shot and killed Keonte Seaborn. ‘Watkins then shot another person during a struggle, and continued to shoot his gun recklessly in the mall before Long acted.’ Long then ‘fatally shot Watkins’ ending his rampage.
So, this guy had already shot two people and was recklessly shooting in a mall, and Long shot and killed him. That makes Long a hero in all of this. Long and presumably bystanders could have been killed.
Except the problem for Long is that he concealed the handgun before he drew it to defend himself and he didn’t have a concealed carry permit, because in the People’s Republic of Michigan, you can’t get a concealed handgun permit until you are twenty-one.
Now, this author would say that this is a situation where the young man should get a mulligan. The authorities should say ‘you broke the law, and we are darn glad you did’ and let him off with, at most, a warning.
But the prosecutors were not nearly that reasonable and so this young man with no prior criminal record was charged and somehow convicted on the unlawful concealment charge. It appears that he had a plea agreement. In any case, mercifully, Judge Sam Salamey only gave him probation.
And then Judge Salamey said the dumbest thing you could imagine. From the article:
The judge admonished Long for carrying the gun and told him he has to think before he acts.
‘Fortunately, you weren't injured, but nonetheless, you had a gun there in the first place, which was poor judgment,’ he said. ‘And what do you need a gun for protection in a mall, in the first place?[‘]
Somehow, he is the Chief Judge in this district. The mind boggles.
Honestly, this author thought that this statement was so dumb, that maybe Judge Salamey somehow didn’t know what this young hero did with the gun. Like maybe he was considering the unlawful concealment charge having no idea of any of the other facts in the case?
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But, no, Fox 2 Detroit has full video and Judge Salamey absolutely understood the context. He just somehow couldn’t put two and two together. This author has seen more than his fair share of judicial dingbats, but we think this actually qualifies as cognitive dissonance. If this young man had obeyed the law, he might be dead right now. The saying ‘it is better to be judged by twelve than carried by six’ isn’t specifically about this situation, but the logic applies.
Needless to say, the Second Amendment community dragged Salamey:
Martinez Long was sentenced to two years of probation for carrying a concealed weapon. He had to shoot a gunman, and he faced no charges for that use of lethal force, because it was deemed lawful self-defense. But his underlying carrying of a firearm was illegal because Michigan… pic.twitter.com/NqkmK6Iw2e
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) September 9, 2026
The cut off text:
But his underlying carrying of a firearm was illegal because Michigan doesn't issue carry permits to those under 21.
The judge, incredibly, asked him why he needed a gun for protection in the mall.
Gee your honor, I don't know, maybe because reality proved that he indeed did need one!
Incredibly frustrating.
"To answer your question your honor, could you please repeat the sentence you said just before the question." pic.twitter.com/UcJwTP86zc
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) September 9, 2026
The picture is quoting the same article, and so you don’t have to squint to read it, the passage says:
‘I know there was a gun fight at the Fairlane mall, and the lawyers have agreed, according to this court's evaluation, that you were acting in self-defense or the defense of others, so that's a valid legal defense,’ he said. ‘Why did you walk into the mall with a gun in the first place?’
Indeed, we were curious as to whether or not the mall was a ‘gun free zone.’ Of course, most Second Amendment advocates know that malls love to put up a sign saying weapons are prohibited while doing nothing to actually keep the guns out—which we think decreases, rather than increases, danger to the public. But what about this mall? Well, we couldn’t get any solid information one way or the other.
“where’s the good guy with a gun” on probation for stopping the bad guy with a gun https://t.co/t7R426FFzC pic.twitter.com/h9b4weLOHZ
— 𝕛𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕒 (@heyyitsjanea) September 9, 2026
WTH? I hadn't heard about this one. I'm sure the NRA is on it, though... 🙄https://t.co/Rvb1zpLqWl pic.twitter.com/CTLQhsczhE
— Clint Olsen (@clintolsen) September 13, 2026
We think Judge Salamey is so dogmatic that he always thinks guns are dangerous in any person’s hands, even when having a gun might be why Mr. Long is alive.
Wait....What??!!!!
— GenXgal90 (@GenXgal90) September 9, 2026
What happened to “Good guys with guns?”
— 🦋GeorgiaResister💙VoteBlueMidterms2026 (@ResisterChic) September 14, 2026
How did Kyle Rittenhouse get away with murdering 3 people emerging a hero on the right?
Yet this young man is sentenced to prison and judge said it was poor judgment on his part to carry a gun! And this young man stopped a shooter from… https://t.co/Byo70XGB9B
The cut off text:
And this young man stopped a shooter from shooting more people!
We live in a two tiered justice system!
First, Rittenhouse murdered no one and anyone says he did either didn’t review the evidence, or doesn’t understand the law.
Second, Rittenhouse didn’t even commit the technical crime of illegally possessing his gun or illegally concealing it. Indeed, one of his attackers, Gaige Grosskreutz admitted on the stand that he had illegally concealed the handgun, and faced absolutely no legal consequences for his criminal conduct. If this person wanted to talk about two-tiered justice, Grosskreutz is the most obvious example, not Rittenhouse.
(But all we know why Grosskreutz was given a pass, while Rittenhouse was falsely charged with illegal possession: Because the prosecutors were ideologically driven to ‘get’ Rittenhouse for the ‘sin’ of interfering with a politically approved riot.)
Third, this is in a blue state, so as far as the allegation that the legal system is racist is concerned… yeah, maybe. The Democrat Party these days is pretty darn racist, so we won’t waste our time defending them from that charge. Indeed, it’s in Dearborn, Michigan, and we are aware of a pretty major civil rights suit alleging religious discrimination against them, but... that is likely to be the subject of a future post.
The judge paraphrased in the least charitable way possible - "How dare you defend yourself, you should have died"
— Founding Ideals (@founding_ideals) September 9, 2026
We are not even sure Judge Salamey was that clear in his thinking.
Can this case not get appealed? Sounds like the perfect type of case that could get to or close to SCOTUS review.
— Frost Boss (@The_Frost_Boss) September 9, 2026
That depends on the wording of the plea agreement. But it does sound like pretty good facts to use to demolish the age limit in the law. We don’t think we can convince the Supreme Court to go below the age of eighteen in any right-to-carry case, but we think we can convince them to say ‘if you are old enough to vote, you are old enough to carry.’
Reality is irrelevant to the left. The issue is never the issue, the issue is always the revolution.
— User85584 (@user85584) September 10, 2026
You. Must. Comply.
Execpt for Democrat Elites, they are more equal than you.
Ngl I'd be catching one hell of a contempt charge for how I'd be handling him saying that.
— eirshy - 🔌🐰🥥🧁 (@eirshy) September 10, 2026
My defense attonrey would need to tackle me to the ground to prevent what I would say, and it would only stop me if he also clamped a hand over my mouth.
If we were the defense attorney, we would have a hard time resisting the temptation to join him or her.
“WhY dO yOu NeEd A gUn FoR pRoTeCtTiOn iN a MaLL?!1?!11”
— Laura W. (@BumpstockBarbie) September 19, 2026
Ummm. For exactly the reason he used it.
@MorosKostas you conveniently failed to mention this guy did not have a concealed carry permit. So he was breaking the law. I don't know why you'd forget to mention that fact as it doesn't' fit your narrative.
— Jack Ryan (@jackryan7007) September 9, 2026
But I believe if people break the law they should face consequences
First, he did mention it. Second, the judge’s statements don’t get smarter in that context.
Anarcho tyranny at its finest right there
— Leo Getz (@KellySendit123) September 9, 2026
I know it's "better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6," but there's always SOBs out there who'll do everything they can to make you regret choosing the former.
— Robert Cruze Jr. (@RobertCruzeJr1) September 10, 2026
Fair point.
The judge is a pos. He has an armed bailiff why does someone need a gun in court??
— noticeratlarge (@NewSouthPhoto) September 10, 2026
Our nation’s courthouses are among the few ‘gun free zones’ that are safe, because they typically have 1) controlled exits and entrances 2) with metal detectors, and 3) a huge presence of armed security. Anything less for a ‘gun free zone’ is a public safety hazard.
Same thing recently went down in NYC. Lethal force was justified but here's 3.5 years for having the gun....
— DrSique🔫😎🌞🇺🇸🦅#45/47 (@dr_sique32071) September 10, 2026
😒 👹⚖
Definite shades of Bernhard Goetz, here.
Goetz was acquitted of any wrongdoing in shooting the gun, but convinced of having an unlicensed firearm. (Maybe he should have sought to overturn his conviction after the Supreme Court struck down New York’s laws.)
How is this even real? It reads like a Babylon Bee article https://t.co/iO0pHkcJOb
— NurseLadyBird (@NurseLadyJ1) September 9, 2026
There is a reason why they had to found Not the Bee.
In any case, the governor of the state should absolutely pardon this young man. We don’t care that he ‘only’ got probation, he doesn’t even deserve that much. But the current governor is the Wicked Witch of the Midwest, Gretchen Whitmer, so we ain’t exactly holding our breath.
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