Police officers, Montreal massacre survivors plead with Ottawa to protect gun registry

TORONTO, Ont. - Police officers and survivors of the Montreal Massacre presented a united front in Ottawa, Thursday, in a bid to keep the national gun registry alive.

They said it's an effective crime fighting tool.

A private member's bill to scrap the registry has already passed second reading in the House of Commons.

Front-line police officers, chiefs and police boards have joined forces to save the registry.

Charles Momy, the president of the Canadian Police Association, which represents more than 40,000 police officers, said the registry is a valuable tool.

"If the registry can prevent one person in this country from either committing suicide, from being injured or killed, or that a crime is solved as a result of information obtained by the registry, isn't that worth it for all Canadians?," Momy questioned.

Survivors of the 1989 massacre in Montreal Que., were on Parliament Hill as well to protect the registry.

The national gun registry was created by the former Liberal government in 1995 following the shooting rampage that killed 14 women.