Radich, wife amend lawsuit over handguns prohibition

U.S. Navy veteran David J. Radich and his wife, Li-Rong, have amended their lawsuit and now includes Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson as co-defendant in their complaint that challenges the constitutionality of the CNMI Weapons Control Act, which prohibits all residents from obtaining handguns for self-defense purposes.

The Radich couple, through counsels David G. Sigale and Daniel T. Guidotti, is suing Department of Public Safety Commissioner James C. Deleon Guerrero and Larson for four counts of violation of their right to keep and bear firearms.

The couple said Deleon Guerrero is responsible for enforcing the CNMI’s laws, customs, practices, and policies.

Larson, on the other hand, has the authority of enforcing the prohibition on the importation of handguns into the CNMI, they said.

The Radich couple filed the amended complaint on Saturday in federal court after U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona recently dismissed their lawsuit for lack of standing.

Manglona, however, allowed the couple to file until March 24, 2015, an amended complaint to include the handgun import ban.

To vindicate their Second Amendment right to bear handguns in self-defense, the Radich couple have a duty to establish their legal standing, the judge said.

Manglona said that because Deleon Guerrero cannot provide the full remedy the Radichs are seeking for their alleged constitutional injury, they must join the official in charge of enforcing the handgun import ban.

“Without that party, this court lacks subject jurisdiction,” said the judge in granting Deleon Guerrero’s motion to dismiss the complaint.

Deleon Guerrero, through the Office of the Attorney General, asked the court to dismiss the case because the plaintiffs’ injuries cannot be redressed by a favorable decision—they lack standing.

Manglona agreed with Deleon Guerrero.

The judge said the court cannot rule on the import ban unless the official in charge of enforcement is named as a party in the lawsuit.

Manglona said in order for the Radich couple to obtain a handgun, they must necessarily import it or cause it to be imported into the Commonwealth.

In their lawsuit, the Radich couple asked the court to issue injunctions preventing Deleon Guerrero and Larson from enforcing against them the prohibitions on virtually all CNMI residents from obtaining handguns for self-defense purposes and the probation on obtaining a Weapons Identification Card and possessing a firearm for self-defense purposes; and for good cause requirement for obtaining a WIC.

The couple asked the court to declare that the prohibitions are null and void because they infringe on the right of people to keep and bear arms, in violation of the Second and Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Radich, who was born in California, is an honorably discharged U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Gulf War. He used to work at a public school on Tinian then moved to Saipan in 2008 to work for an environmental consulting firm. He and Li-Rong have been married since 2009.

According to the complaint, in 2010, while Radich was away and his wife, Li Rong, was at home alone, their home was invaded. Li Rong was reportedly attacked and beaten resulting in injuries, including two broken ribs, facial contusions, and a suspected broken orbital bone and eye socket.

Li Rong screamed out for help and caused the home invader to leave. She eventually recovered physically, but both plaintiffs incurred medical bills for Li Rong’s care.

The couple applied for a weapons permit. To this day, no permit has been granted.