The ease of access to guns is an increasing concern. Photo: RNZI
A Northern Marianas school association has filed a motion to appeal the March court ruling which threw out the Weapons Control Act.
Last month a court struck down the 40 year old act, which stopped non-law enforcement residents from owning handguns, saying in violation of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.
The CNMI Attorney-General said an appeal would be useless and unlikely to succeed so instead the administration introduced new laws aimed at controlling guns including the creation of gun-free zones and a pistol tax.
However the Tanapag Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association disagrees and has filed a federal motion to intervene for purposes of an appeal.
The Association's lawyer Joseph Horey said he didn't share the attorney-general's pessimism.
He felt that while law changes to control guns were admirable, they were not enough.
"It's just like throwing a bunch of snakes into a room," said Mr Horey. "You give people bandages and venom antidote and snake-bite kits and snake repellant and all this kind of stuff and it would be better off to just not have the snakes in the first place."
A hearing to hear the motion for intervention will be heard on May 26th.
