Gun registry survives slim vote

Opposition parties managed to narrowly defeat a Conservative bill to kill the long gun registry yesterday.

In the first major political battle of the fall session of Parliament, Liberal, Bloc Quebecois and NDP MPs voted 153-151 to keep the controversial long gun registry. As predicted, Liberal, Conservative, and Bloc members voted in blocks, with only the NDP divided on the issue. Six of the party’s 36 MPs voted in favour of the bill. While the Conservatives lost the legislative fight, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he will continue to work towards scrapping the registry, which is hugely unpopular in rural parts of the country. Many observers have noted that yesterday’s vote was a wn-win for Harper, who will try to use opposition support for the registry to secure rural votes in the next election.