U.S. President Joe Biden has announced new measures to tackle gun violence across the country in what the White House has described as a first step to curb mass shootings and suicides.

"Enough, enough, enough," said Biden. "Every day in this country 316 people are shot; 106 of them die, every day."

The new measures include plans for the country's Justice Department to crack down on self-assembled "ghost guns," which are firearms without serial numbers, and therefore untraceable by law enforcement. 

It will also attempt to clamp down on stabilizing braces, which effectively turn pistols into rifles.

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Biden, who stood beside his Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland to announce the new measures in front of family members of gun violence victims, also added that he would ask the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to release an annual report on firearms trafficking.

The new regulations would also allow states to adopt 'red flag' laws that mean they can raise alarm at any high-risk individuals who own guns.

"Today we're taking steps to confront not just the gun crisis, but what is actually a public health crisis. This is an epidemic, for God's sake, and it has to stop," Biden said.

Biden has a long history of advocating for gun restrictions, but has come under growing pressure to take more preventive action after recent mass shootings in Colorado and Georgia.

Vice President Harris said: "We've had more tragedy than we can bear. People on both sides of the aisle want action. Real people on both sides of the aisle want action... So all that is left is will and the courage to act."

The measures unveiled do not meet all of Biden's campaign promises, but he will continue to push for Congress to take more aggressive steps in the future, the White House said.