It is not easy to talk about placing limits on anyone’s ability to purchase or possess guns. Granite State residents and Mainers have a long heritage of gun ownership, and generations have enjoyed hunting in our forested lands. And most gun owners in our states are responsible, law-abiding citizens who have respect for weapons and understand how deadly they can be if handled inappropriately.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2013 the number of deaths due to injuries by firearms per 100,000 people was 7.9 in Maine, 8.2 in New Hampshire – among the lowest in the country. But the national Violence Policy Center puts this in some perspective. In 2013, according to its analysis, the national death rate from guns was 10.38 per 100,000 people – far lower than 19 per 100,000 rate in Louisiana but not a heck of a lot higher than New Hampshire and Maine. By comparison, the Violence Policy Center reports, the gun death rate was 0.23 per 100,000 in the United Kingdom, and .86 per 100,000 in Australia.

Into this statistical soup, we add a few more ingredients. The APV analysis indicates the states with the least violence, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have strong gun laws. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in its 2013 scorecard measured states against a panoply of gun control measures from strong background check legislation to mental health reporting to requiring waiting periods prior to purchase. Maine received a grade of F and New Hampshire a D-. What does this tell us? If you believe there should be no restrictions whatsoever on gun ownership, then you are no doubt shaking your head and saying anyone can pull statistics from anywhere. But you are increasingly in the minority. In a January 2014 Gallup poll, 57 percent of all Americans said they were dissatisfied with the country’s gun laws and policies, and 35 percent were very dissatisfied.

We believe this is a subject that continues to require thoughtful legislation and increased support in our statehouses in Concord and Augusta. We were pleased to see this week that Rep. Elaine Andrews-Ahearn said if re-elected she would resubmit her bill to expand background checks for gun purchases. Her bill would have required most private sellers to conduct background checks through federally licensed dealers, including guns sold in gun shows and over the Internet. It was killed on the House floor last session, and a similar bill in Maine was also not enacted – one of 31 gun-related bills submitted in Augusta that never made it into law. Yet in polling conducted throughout last year, most polls indicated a majority of New Hampshire residents, as many as 75 to 85 percent, favor stronger background checks.

Whoever is elected to the statehouse in New Hampshire and Maine and whoever becomes governor, we believe residents of our states will be looking to see thoughtful legislation submitted that strengthens gun control laws. The rancorous debacle that occurred in Concord during floor debate on Andrews-Ahearn’s bill last spring does nothing to advance the dialogue and what we believe to be increasingly the will of the people of our states and the United States. We know there can be a path forward that is respectful of gun owners’ rights yet ensures guns stay out of the hands of those who should not be wielding them. In the face of a seemingly never-ending stream of tragedies we hope 2015 is the year our states can do better.