NDP
Photo from the National Post
The private-member's bill proposed by Conservative Party MP Candice Hoeppner to eliminate the gun registry has proven to be a divisive issue. Canadians are generally split on whether or not to keep the gun registry. The division is most acute between urban and rural populations; urban Canadians want to keep the gun registry, whereas rural Canadians want it eliminated.
Jack Layton and the NDP are in a particularly difficult situation. The NDP must weigh its options carefully as some of its MPs are from rural ridings who would like to see the registry eliminated. Although Layton is strongly against the bill to scrap the gun registry, his MPs have been less than united behind their leader in their responses to date. Previously, 12 NDP MPs voted to eliminate the registry.
Layton, unlike Ignatieff, will allow his MPs to vote freely on the issue. I must commend his decision to allow his MPs to vote as they see fit - it is certainly more democratic than a whipped vote. The only possible downside to a free vote however, is that it doesn't necessarily guarantee that his MPs will vote to keep the registry. To make matters worse, the Liberal Party, or the Conservative Party, could stand to gain from the outcome of the NDPs MPs votes.
No matter the outcome of the vote, the NDP will find itself in a losing position. If the registry is eliminated with the help of some NDP votes, the Liberal Party will find it very easy to blame Layton for the registry's demise. Michael Ignatieff is already prepared to blame Layton if the registry is eliminated. An article in the Toronto Sun quoted Ignatieff saying: "If gun control dies on September 22nd, it will be because Jack Layton and the NDP failed to show leadership."
On the other hand, if the MPs who previously voted to eliminate the registry change their minds and vote to keep it, the Conservative Party will improve its chances of gaining seats held by the NDP in rural ridings in the next election. As Don Martin states in his article in the National Post, Conservatives are implementing aggressive campaigns against "waffling opposition MPs." The Conservative Party could stand to gain seats from flip-flopping NDP MPs.
Unfortunately for Layton, the NDP is in a no-win situation.
In the next installment, the Conservative Party will be examined in detail.
Like most headlines regarding the gun registry, the temptation to make sensationalist play on words using 'gun' lingo makes for a very loaded (no pun intended) argument. Also, this is not a vote eliminate the 'gun' registry. It is a vote to eliminate the 'long gun' registry. Under Harper's proposal, hanguns, prohibited weapons, and large capacity magazine will still require registration. The average unassuming urbanite doesn't know this.
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