Lawmakers in the Northern Marianas are preparing to enact a bill to regulate handguns, should the local law against personal handgun use be ruled unconstitutional.
CNMI Legislature Photo: Supplied
The CNMI Weapons Control Act only allows for individuals to own rifles.
However, a United States Navy Gulf War veteran David Radich and his wife Li-Rong Radich are challenging the constitutionality of the Act in the US District Court.
They want to be issued handguns for self-defence, following a home invasion which left Mrs Radich badly beaten.
Our correspondent, Mark Rabago, says the Act is not expected to hold up against the second amendment of the constitution, which guarantees US citizens the right to bear arms.
"So if that happens, legislature should have a law, or a bill in place, that will make it very, very hard for individuals to import, or to own handguns, so we won't be another California where guns are prevalent. We don't want the CNMI, which is paradise to be another US state, or US city, where there is an abundance of guns."
Mark Rabago says the US district court for the CNMI has set a hearing for the case next month.
