Updated: Wed Nov. 04 2009 18:32:59

CTV.ca News Staff

Conservative MPs, with the support of a few Liberals and New Democrats, have voted in principle to kill the contentious federal long gun registry.

The House erupted in cheers from the Tories as the private member's bill passed by a vote of 164 to 137.

Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner's bill will now go to a Commons committee for further study and a possible amendement.

Conservatives have long argued that the decade-old registry for most shotguns and rifles is a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars, which targets honest gun owners while doing nothing to curb gun crime.

However, proponents such as police chiefs, notably from big cities like Montreal and Toronto, have said the registry is useful tool and has lead to more responsible gun ownership and has reduced suicides and crime of passions using guns.

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What a waste of taxpayer money
We all know that criminals and nut jobs don't register their guns, so why didn't the billion dollars go to build prisons and toughen up laws. Pass strict laws and enforce these laws, that means if you get a 10 year sentence you serve 10 years, NO DEALS or backroom bargaining or early release because prisons are overpopulated. The legal system is a joke.

Toby
Guns don't kill people. People kill people. Sure get rid of the rifles and shotguns. People are gonna have illegal handguns and small machine guns. Just because they get rid of the registry doesn't me people won't have guns.

Greg P, Winnipeg
Of course the police chiefs support it, they need to stay on the proper political message. Ask the rank-and-file, front-line cops... most of them don't think the information in the firearms registry is all that handy - it's not like they check it, say, "oh, so and so has no guns registered, so they must not have any guns", and go waltzing in to serve a warrant - they assume that the person might have an unregistered gun.

The long-gun registry has not prevented a single crime, has not done anything to stop gun violence or stem the flow of illegal firearms that are being used in crimes.

Gord
I would like to see the supposed statistics that the
police chief and others are basing their arguments about less suicides. If they really have them, let them be made public.
20-1 says they have not got such a record.
Unfortunately!

Chad
It should be scrapped. Notice I said scrapped not killed. The media still likes to associate hunters with killing.