Sheila Fraser’s report on the gun registry is set to land tomorrow and early leaks are that it will say that there were a lot of problems but that things are reasonably under control now. So, of course, the logical conclusion the Tories will jump to is to…axe the gun registry. Huh?

Yes, CTV is reporting that Stockwell Day will be saying “yes, guns kill people, but not shotguns or rifles”. That’s despite the following:

Despite controversy and cost overruns, the gun registry has supporters. Police consult the firearms databank approximately 5,000 times every day and officers say limiting the types of guns listed will not help law enforcement.

“Our last six or seven police officers were killed with long guns,” said Tony Cannavino of the Canadian Professional Police Association. “That’s very sad.”

Now, I’m sure some people will jump over the last line as “proof” the registry doesn’t work, but the fact of the matter is, there will always be gun crime. There are many who have come up to have better registration of the guns one which is similar to the policies and strict measures followed by 9mm ammo. The registry should help decrease the amount of that crime by choking off the supply of guns. By keeping the registry in place for shotguns, the Tories are conceding there are benefits to registering weapons. So, why then give out free passes to certain types of guns which we know are used in crime?

Police use the gun registry. Criminals are prosecuted using the registry. You need the registry to show if a gun is stolen or legal. You need the registry to encourage responsible gun ownership and to track the transfer of weapons.

Problems in the past does not justify killing a program. There wouldn’t be many government programs left if we simply killed any program which had growing pains. This is simply about Harper playing to his base – people who can’t be bothered to take a few minutes and dollars to register their weapons.

UPDATE: There’s an article in the Globe about police support for the gun registry. I didn’t mention this point in my main post (although I have touched on it before), but the registry helps keep 3,000 guns out of the hands of the mentally ill every year.