4th District Candidates To Speak At Gun Violence Prevention Forum

Fourth District congressional candidates will be on hand Wednesday night for a forum on gun violence prevention hosted by the Mercer County chapter of Moms Demand Action, the group announced.

The candidates who are scheduled to attend are Republican Felicia Stoler, who is challenging longtime incumbent Chris Smith for the GOP nomination in the district, and Jim Keady and Josh Welle, who are vying for the Democratic nomination. The party primary elections are scheduled for June 5, 2018.

The event organizers said Smith was invited to attend but said the reply they received from his staff was that he could not attend because he will be in Washington as Congress is in session.

The forum will give the candidates time to express their positions on gun safety reforms and then will be allotted equal time for the first half of the program to discuss questions provided in advance, organizers said.

The second half of the event will be moderated by the Moms Demand Action team as the audience asks questions, organizers said.

The forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25 at the Hamilton Township Library, 1 Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Way, Hamilton, NJ 08619.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was created to demand action from legislators, state and federal; companies; and educational institutions to establish common-sense gun reforms. It was founded Dec. 15, 2012 by stay-at-home mom Shannon Watts in response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. It has chapters in every state.

The organization says: "Moms Demand Action supports the 2nd Amendment, but we believe common-sense solutions can help decrease the escalating epidemic of gun violence that kills too many of our children and loved ones every day. We must act now on new and stronger gun laws and policies to protect our children."

The following towns are in the 4th District: Hamilton Township and Robbinsville in Mercer County; Allentown, Avon-By-The-Sea, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Brielle, Colts Neck, Eatontown, Englishtown, Fair Haven, Farmingdale, Freehold, Freehold Township, Holmdel, Howell, Lake Como, Little Silver, Manalapan Township, Manasquan, Middletown Township (part), Millstone, Neptune City, Neptune Township, Ocean Township, Red Bank, Roosevelt, Rumson, Sea Girt, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Tinton Falls, Upper Freehold Township and Wall; and Bay Head, Jackson Township, Lakehurst, Lakewood, Manchester Township, Point Pleasant Beach, Point Pleasant Borough (part) and Plumsted Township in Ocean County.

Close-up of a scratched M4A1, the military equivalent of the AR-15. Photo by Anatoly Vartano/Shutterstock