New Democrat MLA Mike Farnworth plans to introduce a private member's bill in February that regulates and restricts the wearing of Kevlar body armour.

"Gangsters and thugs shouldn't be wearing body armour; police should," said Farnworth, the MLA for Port Coquitlam Burke-Mountain in a statement released on Thursday.

Farnworth's proposal comes days after a brazen daytime shooting in Abbotsford shocked Fraser Valley residents.

In that incident a gunman in a passing car shot at a well-known gang member who was wearing body armour, according to police.

"Gangland violence has become more common in the Lower Mainland, and it is outrageous that offenders have the same amount of protection as the officers trying to put an end to it," he said.

But B.C. Solicitor General John van Dongen says gangsters who ignore gun laws aren't any more likely to obey body armour laws.

Van Dongen said the province needs solutions that help police and the Crown get convictions and accuses Farnworth of political grandstanding.

With files from the Canadian Press