OTTAWA - A Commons committee has voted not to proceed with a private member's bill to scrap the controversial long gun registry.
Tory MP Candice Hoeppner's bill has been given a thumbs down by Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois members of the committee.
However, it's not dead yet.
The committee's recommendation must still be put to a vote in the Commons, where MPs could choose to ignore the committee and pass the bill.
It passed at second reading in the Commons when eight Liberals and 12 New Democrats joined with the Conservatives in supporting it.
Since then, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has ordered all his MPs to oppose the bill, with the promise of eventual reforms to the registry should Liberals take power one day.
The fate of the bill thus rests with the dozen New Democrats who supported it the first time round.
NDP Leader Jack Layton has so far resisted pressure to force his MPs to toe the party line.
