Illegal guns continue to plague New York and contribute to public safety problems in the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a radio interview that aired on Thursday. 

Hochul earlier this week approved a package of gun law changes that include requiring permits for a person age 21 or older to possess a semiautomatic rifle, study whether microstamping of bullet casings is feasible and expand the state's red flag law, among other measures. 

But in an interview with WAMC in Albany, Hochul cotinued to point to other states with looser gun laws. Gun law changes are needed across the country in order to address the violence, she said. 

"In order for it be really effective, we need all 50 states to do this, because the guns are still flowing in," Hochul said, noting guns are coming in from states like Georgia and Tennessee. "There laws are so lax; that's what we're up against."

The governor earlier this year announced an interstate task force to address the flow of illegal weapons into New York and previously announced thousands of firearms had already been confiscated. 

Hochul's approval of the gun law changes made New York the first state to address the issue legislatively in the wake of a pair of mass shootings in Buffalo and Texas that rocked the nation in May. 

"What we have to do in government is understand there are strong feelings, but there are commonsense reforms," she said.