Ding dong the witch is dead the wicked witch is dead... well at least in some people's opinion.
The Conservative government says its MPs are celebrating after a historic vote to end the long-gun registry but meanwhile, some opposition MPs and supporters of the registry say the government's actions are a step backwards, because the registry has been useful in keeping the country's streets safe.
Bill C-19, the Ending the Long Gun Registry Act, is guaranteed to pass through the House of Commons, thanks to the Conservative government's majority, but more political wrangling is expected to follow.
Gun control has been a huge topic of debate in Canada for decades although hunters and sport shooters reviled the registry, and dismantling it became a central plank of Reform, and later, Conservative party policy. Yorkton's Garry Breitkreuz has worked on the issue throughout.
Tony Bernardo, Canada's leading advocate for gun owners, as executive director of the Canadian Sports Shooting Association and a lobby group called the Canadian Institute for Legislative Action says, "I've been working for 15 years to make this happen... It's a big deal for me.''
Bernardo says scrapping the long-gun registry is already a "defining moment'' in Canadian people power. "What you're seeing here, this is democracy in action at its finest... Millions of people spoke up and said we don't want this, and the government responded and now it's gone.''
It's not paper work that will save lives but stiffer sentences and cracking down on those who are deserving of punishment, not Canada's law abiding average Joes.
