On Monday, a judge ruled that several gun restrictions in the Mariana Islands Commonwealth violated the Second Amendment. The Commonwealth, located near the Philippines, is a 179-sq.-mile U.S. territory with a population of about 55,000.
At issue was the Commonwealth’s total ban on possessing or importing handguns and handgun ammunition. Additionally, anyone wishing to own a firearm had to apply for a Weapons Identification Card (WIC), and to obtain this license, applicants had to show they had a good reason—besides self-defense—to own a gun.
After the WIC applications filed by Li-Rong Radich, a woman who was brutally beaten during a home invasion, and her husband David sat for three years without a response, the two filed suit. The ruling, handed down by Chief Justice Ramona Manglona of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands, requires officials to immediately stop enforcing the handgun ban and begin issuing WICs on the grounds of self-defense.
