Relatives of the victims of Canada's worst mass shooting are urging NDP Leader Jack Layton to secure more votes to save the gun registry.

'The gun registry is the one good thing that came out of the Montreal tragedy. It is a monument to the memory of our daughters.'—Suzanne Laplante-Edward, mother of Polytechnique victim Anne-Marie Edward

Joined by students and graduates of the University of Montreal's École Polytechnique, the group gathered in Layton's Toronto riding on Thursday.

They called on the NDP leader to do everything he can – short of directing the votes of his caucus – to guarantee New Democrats don't help the Conservatives dismantle the controversial program when they vote on Bill C-391 next week in the House of Commons.

The legislation would scrap the multi-million dollar registry.

Emergency workers rush a shooting victim out of Montreal's Polytechnique. Fourteen women were killed on Dec. 6, 1989. (CBC Archives)"The gun registry is the one good thing that came out of the Montreal tragedy. It is a monument to the memory of our daughters," said Suzanne Laplante-Edward, mother of Anne-Marie Edward, one of the 14 women murdered in the Dec. 6, 1989, shooting.

"Guns kill not only bodies, but also souls. Our family will never be whole."

Thirteen people were injured in the 20-minute rampage before the gunman turned his weapon on himself. The massacre led to tougher gun control laws in Canada.

Struggling to speak through tears, Laplante-Edward explained how the shooting left deep scars that will never fully heal.

"Anne-Marie's life will never be given back to her. She is dead. We are doing this for other people's children."

Laplante-Edward's husband, Jim Edward, also spoke to the media — something he said he rarely does. "We are talking about throwing away 20 years of advocacy," said Edward, speaking softly.

The group posted a billboard in Layton's riding, which shows the NDP leader standing next to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and asks, "Jack, are you really going to help this man destroy Canada's gun control?"

In bold lettering it also reads, "Wearing a white ribbon is not enough." Layton is the co-founder of the white ribbon campaign aimed at ending violence against women.

Dawson College community pleads for registry

Hayder Kadhim, a survivor of the Dawson College shooting, also joined the group in Toronto on Thursday. Kadhim was shot three times, and still has a bullet lodged in the back of his neck, by a gunman who opened fire on Sept. 13, 2006, at the Montreal CÉGEP college, before killing himself.

Students and staff at Montreal's Dawson College held a news conference Thursday to ask for political support for the gun registry. (CBC)Staff and students at his alma mater spoke out as well on Thursday, at a news conference in Montreal where they demanded the federal government save the long-gun registry. Anastasia De Sousa, 18, died in the shooting rampage and 19 others were injured.

The concern among registry supporters is that its demise will lead to more violence similar to what was experienced at Dawson in 2006, said student union chair Ariel Charney.

"The fear that not having the same element of gun control in society, that it could potentially lead to another situation like that, is very scary," Charney told reporters. "We believe that the long-gun registry will at least help to maintain that level of public security."

The weapon used by the Dawson shooter was registered, conceded Mary Hlywa, social services program co-ordinator at the college.

But the gun that killed 14 women in the Montreal Massacre at École Polytechnique in 1989 was not, she pointed out.

"The long-gun registry can be improved, and not abolished," Hlywa said. " No one believes that millions of law abiding gun owners in Canada are criminals, but the laws in our country exist to protect us from the exceptions."

Members of the Dawson community plan to travel to Ottawa this week to continue their lobby efforts until the vote takes place.

With files from The Canadian Press