Photo: 123rf

The Northern Marianas must pay more than $US 100,000 dollars in legal fees and expenses to a US Navy veteran David Radich and his wife, Li-Rong.

This comes after the CNMI lost a court challenge to its 40-year handgun law .

Last month, the US District Court for the CNMI Chief Judge Ramona Manglona ruled that the Weapons Control Act, which essentially banned handguns in the US territory, was unconstitutional and decided in favour of the Radich couple in the lawsuit.

The judge said the CNMI's ban on handguns violated the US Constitution's Second Amendment, which gave people the right to bear arms.