HARTFORD (AP) — A top Democratic state lawmaker in Connecticut is raising the idea of convening a constitutional convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban assault-style firearms.

Hartford Rep. Matthew Ritter, majority leader of the state's House of Representatives, acknowledged Tuesday it's a "tall order" to get two-thirds of the state legislatures to agree to call a convention, given fear it could veer into other issues.

He says there's little confidence Congress will do anything to address gun violence and this effort would give people "hope and something to do with this energy and passion" they're feeling after the latest mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.

Connecticut passed bipartisan gun violence legislation after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, including an expanded assault weapons ban.

Ritter's staff is investigating the process.