Gun registry vote now too close to call

A fourth NDP MP has declared he’ll switch his vote to support the gun control program.

Malcolm Allen, an NDP MP from the rural riding of Welland, ON, announced yesterday that he’ll be voting in favour the gun registry once Parliament reconvenes next week. That means that the Wednesday vote on a bill to scrap the controversial control program could be headed for a tie. Some analysts project a one- or two-vote win for the Conservatives, who are trying to kill the registry. The Tories say it is wasteful and ineffective. The NDP has struggled with the issue because while party leader Jack Layton supports the registry, constituents in rural NDP ridings do not. Layton’s convinced several rural NDP MPs to switch their vote in the past week