New Development in Gun Registry Debate

NDP leader Jack Layton is floating a last-minute
compromise to save the long-gun registry that may also keep his political reputation from sinking.
Layton wants to introduce legislation that would address some of the complaints about the long-gun registry and potentially stave off a final vote on a private member’s bill that would kill the program altogether.
The bill passed second reading last fall in a narrow vote that saw eight Liberals and 12 New Democrats siding with the
anti-registry Tories.
But Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has said he’ll force his MP’s to vote along party lines when the bill comes back before the House
next month.
That leaves NDP MP’s with the voting power to cancel the registry or keep it alive.
Layton says his bill would help ease the divide between rural and urban voters on the registry and would be the “Canadian” way to approach the problem.