The Northern Marianans Department of Public Safety says it stands to lose thousands of dollars in potential federal grants because of new fire arms regulations.
CNMI Range Master, Ambrose Ogumoro, says a law passed last year now exempts gun owners from undergoing a mandatory firearms safety education class when renewing their gun licenses.
Ambrose Ogumoro says there are close to 2,000 guns in the commonwealth but about 800 are unregistered.
Under commonwealth law, illegal possession of firearm is a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 5,000 US dollars imprisonment for not more than five years or both.
The Marianas Variety report that the new law passed last year exempts gun owners renewing their licences and having to attend the Safety Education Class which was mandatory previously.
The cost of the class was 20 US dollars.
In return, the CNMI gets federal grants for the Division of Fish and Wildlife and DPS through the Project Child Safety.
