NDP Leader Jack Layton has spoken passionately about the need for a federal long-gun registry, but he could end up with its demise as part of his political legacy.

Mr. Layton is head of a largely urban caucus that owes a third of its seats to the rural regions of Canada, where the registry is widely despised. Those party dynamics leave him far more exposed than leaders of the other parties, forcing him to straddle an issue that divides the country along city and country lines.

Read the entire Globe and Mail article here.