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Radich insists on being allowed to have handgun
David J. Radich, a U.S. Navy veteran who, along with his wife, challenged the constitutionality of the CNMI’s handgun prohibition law, says he continues to be extremely concerned about self-defense for his wife and himself.
In his declaration filed in federal court, Radich described how an unidentified man invaded his home and attacked his wife in 2010, resulting in her sustaining several injuries.
The Office of the Attorney General, as counsel for Department of Public Safety Commissioner James C. Deleon Guerrero, asked the court to strike Radich’s declaration.
Assistant attorney general James Zarones said the Radich couple should have presented to the court their reason for filing the declaration and requested permission to file the amended declaration.
Instead, Zarones said, the Radich couple took it upon themselves to file the new declaration without permission, perhaps thinking it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.
On Tuesday, U. S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona dismissed the Radich couple’s lawsuit. In the same order, the judge denied as moot the OAG’s motion to strike the declaration.
In the new declaration, Radich said the CNMI law that prohibits him from owning a handgun significantly limits his ability to protect himself and his family in the event of violence.
At the same time, Radich said, his inability to obtain a Weapons Identification Card for self-defense purposes significantly limits his ability to protect himself and his family.
Radich and his wife, Li-Rong, applied with the Department of Public Safety for a Weapons Identification Card, but their applications have yet to be approved or denied.
Manglona had dismissed the lawsuit for lack of standing. The judge, however, allowed the Radich couple to file by March 24, 2015, an amended complaint to include the handgun import ban.
