KITTERY, Maine — As President Barack Obama proposed a plan this week to toughen gun laws, a newly formed group of local residents who support his efforts said one of the best ways to get national consensus on the issue is to create opportunities for dialogue between gun owners and non-gun owners.

KITTERY, Maine — As President Barack Obama proposed a plan this week to toughen gun laws, a newly formed group of local residents who support his efforts said one of the best ways to get national consensus on the issue is to create opportunities for dialogue between gun owners and non-gun owners.



And it can begin at the local level, said members of the Seacoast Committee Against Gun Violence, who met in Kittery for the first time Thursday.



The group of residents from Kittery, Eliot, York and Portsmouth, N.H., formed to brainstorm ways that the larger Seacoast community can join New Hampshire, Maine and the nation in supporting "sensible" gun-control legislation.



"I'm not politically active by nature, but I feel deeply that we're in a mess," said Cynthia Luma of Kittery. "And I think there are so many people like myself who feel strongly about this."



Gavin Barbour of Kittery said he grew up with guns, and "was taught from the very beginning about the responsibility of gun ownership. Everyone wants a safe world, and proper, responsible gun ownership is part of it."



Most members of the group said hunting is important to many people, and some said they understand that people want to have a gun in their home for protection.



"Most people would say it's OK to own a gun if it's done responsibly," Barbour said. The problem is that some gun owners feel "any restriction is a wedge that will end in their losing their gun, so they take a hard line on all weapons."



Martin Kolk of Kittery, who hosted the meeting, said he has heard it suggested that non-gun owners join the National Rifle Association, and create change from the inside.



"If you doubled the membership, you could change the leadership," he said.



Some people suggested contacting Maine and New Hampshire's congressional delegations and writing letters to the editor.



"Get on Facebook and Twitter. Post one and ask people to send it to 10 others," said Carol Selsberg of Eliot.



Kyle Wolfe of Kittery said she doesn't understand who comprises the opposition. She said 250,000 people joined the NRA since the shootings in Newtown, Conn.



"But that's still only 1 percent of the people in the United States," she said. "If 60 percent of the NRA are rational, it gets down to a small number of people (opposed to gun control legislation). Then we have congressmen who won't discuss gun control whatsoever. I don't quite get what is controlling that big faction that we're trying to stand up against."



Selsberg said she believes most gun owners "are good people. You have to figure out how to come to a meeting of the minds." She then suggested meeting locally with gun owners and non-gun owners. "Let's have a reasonable meeting, a dialogue. What unites us?



"How else do you start?" she asked.



The group will meet again at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 28 Wentworth St., Kittery, to further plan for such a gathering. For information, e-mail Kolk at dunhampoint@gmail.com.