NEW PROVIDENCE - Gabby Giffords admits she still has trouble speaking.

But she quickly added she hasn't "lost her voice."

And on Wednesday, that "voice," and Giffords herself, were in CD-7 to bolster the candidacy of Rebecca Bennett.

"Strong women get things done," Giffords said, referring to Bennett, who was sitting next to her. .

Giffords was an Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head and seriously wounded at a public event near Tucson in January of 2011.

Six people were killed in the attack.

Her recovery has been slow, but steady. It's still a daily battle, she told about 50 people gathered in the borough's library. Many were from Moms Demand Action, a group seeking laws to stop gun violence. They were easy to spot in their bright red shirts.

After the Sandy Hook school shootings in December, 2012, the former congresswoman launched an organization dedicated to supporting reasonable gun laws. It is called simply GIFFORDS.

Giffords speaks haltingly at times and walks with the help of a cane.

But that did not stop her from traveling cross country to back Bennett in her battle with Tom Kean Jr The gun issue has become one of the polarizing ones of the day.

Democrats generally support regulating gun ownership; Republicans do not.

Bennett, a Navy veteran, said, "I learned how to operate weapons of war."

The implication was simple - such weapons do not belong on the streets of New Jersey.

Democrats want universal background checks and a ban on semi-automatic weapons. That is the case in New Jersey, but not federally.

Bennett, a mother of two, spoke of the current generation of children growing up with the trauma of gun violence. Many schools today have active shooter drills along with the fire drills many adults remember.

Appearing with Bennett and Giffords today were Peter Corvelli Jr., the Union County sheriff, and local Assemblyman Vin Kearney, who is a detective in the sheriff's department.

That hardly seemed like an accident.

The point was that many law enforcement officials support sensible gun restrictions.

Sheriff Corvelli said this has to do with reducing the risk to officers, who often walk into unknown and dangerous environments.

Giffords did not speak after the event to a rather large media presence, but Bennett did, Asked to characterize Rep. Kean's work in regard to gun safety laws, Bennett said:

"I have not heard him say anything about gun safety - period."