--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AIM ON COURSE
TRAGEDY CAN'T STALL TORY PLAN TO DITCH CONTROVERSIAL GUN REGISTRY

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Tories aren't backing down. They vowed to can the registry of long guns, introduced legislation earlier this year to do the job, and now, with MPs back in Ottawa, the Conservatives do not blink. They want and need more seats in pro-registry Quebec and a few more folks on the benches from pro-registry urban Canada wouldn't hurt the cause, but this time, the party does not want to rile their tried-and-true supporters. You know the people. You may be one.

They are the loyalists who blow a gasket at the very mention of the long-gun registry, not primarily because of the oodles of money spent on it or any arguments about the effectiveness of the scheme, but because they just don't like the idea of the government poking around law-abiding folks' business.

And the loyalists want some love. In the attempt by the Conservatives to steer closer to the centre line, those in the Tory right lane haven't been tossed enough bones for their liking.

So this is the saw-off Harper must finesse, selling his government to enough Canadians as sufficiently strong on gun crime and, yes, the prevention of gun crime, while at the same time keeping that pesky paperwork away from the Tory farmers and hunters.

Whatever the result of the end game, it didn't take long for the manoeuvring against Tory designs to begin yesterday. The crime scene wasn't cold but the politics was sure heating up. With murder and mayhem very much in the Montreal air, those who oppose Tory plans to scrap the registry this fall saw an opening and seized it to try and score some points.

Wendy Cukier, the queen of gun control, hit the airwaves to again state her case against the Conservative agenda. Her perennial pitch? If you have control over all guns, you reduce the chances for dangerous people to get them.

Relatives of the 14 female students murdered in Montreal by Marc Lepine in '89 also express support for keeping the existing registry, the catalogue created with the killings in mind. One of those questioned is angry at the prime minister's plans. Liberal and Bloc politicians join the naysaying chorus.

Even a few Tory MPs, such as the pull-no-punches Ontario parliamentarian Garth Turner, worry about the party's chances in Quebec if the government sticks with their scenario. After all, Quebecers are already not overjoyed with the Tories over Afghanistan.

Still, the good old boys in caucus win the day. The prime minister says the present registry he wants to axe didn't prevent the shooting spree. His government is looking to make laws more effective.

TRANSLATION: The registry remains on the way out.

Jay Hill, the MP responsible for MPs toeing the party line, confirms the PM's read-between-the-lines. The nixing of the registry is still a go. Other Tory backbenchers echo the same sentiment to this page while shunning the on-the-record limelight and any wrist slap from Harper's control-freak handlers.

Of course, Stephen's staying the course does not mean the debate is done. In fact, the argy-bargy is barely begun and no set of stats or amount of logic will shift sides.

The debate is a clash of cultures and ideologies and has no connection to the madman with his finger on the trigger or whether his gun was registered or whether much can be done to prevent lunatics from letting loose. A brutal, graphic crime with a firearm opens up the political Pandora's box, especially when the debate is now set to come before the Commons.

For some, the registry is evidence of a nanny state intruding on liberties, making good people pay for bad people's deeds. For others, less likely to vote Tory but necessary if Harper wants a majority, a blank is drawn. They simply can't understand why anybody would be so incensed, outraged and apoplectic about the idea of registering firearms. If it helps, even a little, why not do it?

Well, for long guns, the registration will no longer be done if the Tories have their way. Stephen promised some red meat for the faithful and they will get their pound of flesh.

He will press on.

As one Tory MP said of his caucus colleagues: "On this thing, they're pretty dug in."