Connecticut urges the Senate to follow its lead in passing stricter laws.

Hartford — Connecticut politicians and gun control advocates on Monday urged the U.S. Senate to return immediately to Washington, D.C., and follow the state’s lead in passing stricter gun laws, including some with bipartisan support.

Frustrated by news of more mass shootings since the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, many at a state Capitol rally said Connecticut has managed to pass legislation since that tragedy that could be replicated in other states and nationwide. That includes an expanded ban on assault rifles and large-capacity magazines and enhanced background checks.

More recently, the Connecticut General Assembly enacted legislation limiting domestic abusers’ access to guns, banning bump stocks and requiring new gun storage rules.

“This can be done in Congress, with the right amount of courage,” said Jeremy Stein, executive director of the group Connecticut Against Gun Violence, told a crowd of about 250 people, including many activists who got involved in the gun violence issue after the Sandy Hook shooting, which left 20 first-graders and six educators dead.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal used the event to urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to call the Senate back from its August recess and pass several gun safety measures that have already cleared the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Senator McConnell, lead or get out of the way. Call us back today,” shouted Blumenthal, whose call was met by loud cheers from the crowd.

No Republican state legislators attended Monday’s rally, which came after a weekend in which two mass shootings took 31 lives.