It's pretty much been succinctly said, the Long Gun Registry was created in an effort to combat gun crime. However the execution of getting the criminal element to register their (illegal?!)firearms was never really thought out....

A good example, as presented by Law Enforcement would be; When responding to a domestic disturbance call, they could cross check the registry and know if there were (registered) firearms at the call address, thus giving them more intel to accurately assess the situation....

Now this is only one example, but one oft repeated. It is so filled with flaws.....
It's only really political on a broader Gun/No-Gun debate level. Lawful gun owners don't really have a problem with their firearms being documented, why would they?! But this registry as it stands, is monolithic, blind, undefined and open to abuse...