Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris discussed the order during a joint event on gun violence at the White House on Thursday.

The first prong of the order targets machine gun conversion devices—which can convert a pistol or semi-automatic gun into an automatic—and 3D-printed guns.

Under federal law, a machine gun is a firearm that fires continuously while the trigger is depressed.

Commonly called "Glock switches" or "auto sears," machine gun conversion devices are illegal after-market parts that alter a gun's trigger to allow legal semi-automatic firearms to operate as illegal, fully automatic weapons.

The White House noted that, between 2017 and 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives recovered 5,454 guns that had been converted to match or "exceed the rate of fire of many military machineguns with a single engagement of the trigger."

In the order, Biden indicated he would like the law expanded to also ban devices like bump stocks that increase a shooter's rate of fire but don't mechanically alter the gun. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that bump stocks are not machine guns under current federal law.

"The Vice President and I strongly disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision to strike down an important gun safety regulation on bump stocks—the device used in the shooting at a crowded music festival in Las Vegas—and called on Congress to clarify that this dangerous accessory is a machinegun," Biden stated in the order.

Harris said more work needs to be done to make sure all Americans feel protected in public spaces.

"I believe the right to be safe is a civil right, and that the people of America have a right then, to live, work, worship and learn without fear of violence—including gun violence—and yet, our nation is experiencing an epidemic of gun violence," Harris said.