Gun Registry should still be scrapped

In reaction to the recent shooting at Dawson College in Montreal, many have called for Harper to not scrap the gun registry including the Liberals and premier Jean Charest. While I am no fan of Stephen Harper and I will continue to disagree with him on many issues, I do believe he is right on the gun registry. I don't support US style gun laws, but at the same time I don't think British style gun laws which go to the other extreme work well. I am not against the idea of the gun registry per se, however I don't believe it is the most effective tool in fighting crime. If the gun registry cost only a fraction of what it does, I would argue the benefits outweigh the costs, however, I would argue based on its costs, the costs outweigh the benefits. Every dollar we put into the gun registry is one less dollar we could put elsewhere. The reality is criminals rarely register their guns and most gun crimes are committed with handguns, which are rightfully heavily restricted. Most long-gun owners are farmers and people from small towns who use it for hunting and target shooting. Rather than going after law-abiding citizens, I believe putting them money into more border guards in order to step up border checks and more police officers is a more effective way of dealing with gun crime. Now I am not against the idea though of banning certain types of weapons, however we should not rush, but rather look at the issue once the dust has settled and look at it methodically. In reaction to two terrible killing sprees in Australia and Britain, gun laws were tightened, yet gun crime continues to rise. We must ensure that stricter gun control laws are done because they work, not to score political points.

I must say though it will be interesting to see how Harper handles this file as the gun registry is very popular in Quebec so scrapping it will just make winning a majority even more difficult considering his position on the environment, Afghanistan, and SSM has already alienated many Quebeckers. Likewise if he fails to keep his promise here, I suspect many rural voters won't be happy. While I think the West aside from the Lower Mainland will stay mostly Conservative, his failure to scrap the gun registry could cost him a few rural Ontario ridings if enough of those who voted Conservative based on that issue stay home on election day.

Anyways I will have more on the New Brunswick election later tonight.