Gary Phillips, the mayor of San Rafael, was rightly frustrated after a brutal weekend of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. So he ordered the city to lower its flags to half-staff until Congress passes better gun control legislation.

On Friday, Phillips changed course, directing his staff to return the flags to full staff on Aug. 12. He said his announcement had achieved its goal of capturing public attention — and now he wants to turn that attention toward the gun control measures his city can achieve despite congressional inaction.

“It is clear to me that our community expects us to do even more,” Phillips said in a statement. “So we shall consider all possibilities.”

Phillips’ actions suggest the depth of frustration Californians feel about gun violence. The massacres in El Paso and Dayton happened less than a week after a young man, armed with a semiautomatic rifle that’s illegal to buy in California, killed three people and wounded 12 more at the July 28 Gilroy Garlic Festival. California’s gun laws are among the toughest in the nation, but the shooter was able to buy the gun, legally, in Nevada.

Gun control will not be fully effective unless measures are passed at the federal level.

That’s not easy, seeing as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has refused to allow his chamber to even consider gun control measures. Until this week, McConnell’s refusal included a bill passed by the Democratic-led House to expand background checks.

On Thursday, McConnell appeared to change course. He told a Kentucky radio station that he’d spoken to President Trump and would consider a bill on background checks and possibly a “red flag” measure that would allow authorities to take weapons from someone deemed a threat to themselves or others.

Trump backed up McConnell’s account on Friday, claiming that McConnell was now “totally on board” with considering the House legislation.

This big talk may not turn into action. McConnell has also refused to call the Senate back from recess to vote on the legislation. He may be waiting to see if the country is willing to move on from its feelings of despair.

Voters can’t give him a pass.

The vast majority of Americans support not only background checks but many other gun control measures.

In an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll taken last month, 89% of U.S. adults said they approved of background checks and 57% said they would support a ban on semi-automatic assault weapons. A May Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters found that 77% support a license requirement for potential gun purchasers.

On any other political issue, these overwhelming numbers would shove Congress toward immediate action.

Guns, historically, have proven the exception to this rule. So for McConnell to even suggest an openness to hearing gun control legislation suggests he’s under pressure like never before. Americans must keep up the pressure on their representatives — and vote to reflect their belief that the shootings must stop.

This commentary is from The Chronicle’s editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.