Assemblyman David Buchwald on Thursday pledged that if he elected to Congress he would back a national version of the SAFE Act. 

“I have long advocated for tougher gun safety laws in New York, and I’m ready to tackle this issue in Congress,” he said. “The first bill I ever voted for as an Assemblymember was the New York SAFE Act, banning assault weapons, expanding background checks, and providing New York the strongest gun laws in the nation. I’ve never been afraid of the NRA, and I wholly reject their warped view of the Second Amendment. I’ll go to Congress ready to stand up for common sense, with a real gun safety agenda for all Americans.” 

Buchwald, a Westchester County Democrat from White Plains, is running for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Nita Lowey in the lower Hudson Valley. 

Buchwald's proposal would ban assault-style weapons and enact universal background checks. He would also support a national "safe storage" provision that's now in effect in New York. 

Additional measures are meant to crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchasing as well as concealed-carry reciprocity. 

The New York SAFE Act, a signature law for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was approved in 2013 in the wake of an elementary school shooting in Connecticut. 

The law is a package of gun control provisions as well as measures to increase penalties for targeting first responders. 

Buchwald faces a crowded Democratic primary field for the nomination to run for Lowey's seat.