Democratic elected officials, from district attorneys to Gov. Kathy Hochul, cheered President Joe Biden's federal rule change issued Monday to crack down on hard-to-trace firearms that have been blamed on shootings across the state. 

The move is meant to address guns that can be assembled using kits, and are often difficult for law enforcement to track after the firearm is believed to have been used in a crime. 

New York officials have sought to crack down on the manufacturing of the weapons and have shuttered websites that sell the kits. 

“In New York, we have taken significant action to crack down on gun violence, taking more than 2,700 guns off our streets and shutting down websites that sell ghost guns in New York," said state Attorney General Letitia James. "But our efforts can only go so far if these untraceable weapons are not effectively regulated at the federal level."

These types of guns have been increasingly recovered at crime scenes, said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. 

"Mandating manufacturer licenses and component serial numbers on ghost guns will help keep us safe and allow for greater accountability when these weapons are used to wreak havoc on our communities," Katz said in a statement. "We commend the efforts of the Biden administration on gun safety."

State officials have over the last several months sought to address growing concerns surrounding shootings in the state. Hochul's administration in February launched a multi-state task force, composed of local, state and federal law enforcement officials, as part of an effort to stem the flow of illegal guns into New York. 

"No one should be able to circumvent the process to gain access to deadly weapons, especially those that take just 30 minutes to assemble and whose parts often cost less than $100," Hochul said.

Her office last week announced 1,753 firearms have been removed from the streets as part of the task force's early efforts.

The National Rifle Association, meanwhile, said the move by the Biden administration is an empty one without first taking people who commit crimes off the streets.