The long gun registry will fall victim to the populist wildfire of resentment because to rural Canadians it has become a symbol of government bumbling.

Since the registry was passed in 1995, homicides by rifles and shotguns have dropped by nearly 50 percent, while handgun deaths are up and non-firearm homicides are down slightly. In 2008, Statistics Canada reported that 17 percent of all homicides were committed using rifles and shotguns - that's 34 deaths. In the same year, 1,833 firearms licences were revoked and 462 were refused, Firearms Commissioner William Elliott reported to Parliament that the number one reason for revoking 75 percent of firearms licences was court-ordered prohibition or probation.

The Conservatives have neutered the registry by waiving penalties for those who fail to register firearms. Most recently they have extended this amnesty. The government has drawn strong criticism from a national police organization, all opposition parties and some provincial governments for killing an effective tool against crime, and for by-passing a democratic vote in the House of Commons.

Canadian Police Association President Tony Cannavino, says his members consult the firearms registry 5,000 times a day. "The registry has always been useful to us," Cannavinno told Canadian Press, adding that it allows police to determine what kind of weapons they might find in a house and what size of security to set up during an operation.

Here is an actual example of how the gun registry works. A person had reportedly pointed a rifle at a co-worker and threatened to kill him. The registry confirmed for the RCMP that the suspect had nine long guns registered in his name. A warrant was granted and all nine long guns, including the suspect's firearm and a quantity of ammunition, were recovered.

Despite serious cost overruns when the registry was first established, its cost is now around $15.7 million per year, of which about $10 million represents the costs of registering rifles and shotguns.

An Ipsos-Reid poll in May 2006 found that 67 per cent of Canadians support the firearms registry and support is even stronger in Ontario at 71 per cent. Even in Western Canada, where opposition has traditionally been strongest, a majority support more gun control. Supporters of the firearms registry include: Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Canadian Professional Police Association, more than 40 national women's associations, Centre of Suicide Prevention, Canadian Pediatric Society, The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians.

Sources:
Mark Holland [MP Ajax-Pickering] Ottawa Update Gun Registry Nov. 6 2009
http://liberalminute.wordpress.com/2009/77/07/mark-holland
StraightGoods Online. www.straightgoods.ca