Navy to Name Ship After Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk | Hacker News Reader

Navy to Name Ship After Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk

news.usni.org

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I have to say as a gay man that this is a huge step for any part of the US Armed Forces.

As a straight man I say good on them.

He also served four years in the Navy

As is apparent by the screen-high photo of him in uniform directly beneath the headline. The ship is actually named after him due to his civil rights record, however.

it is being named after him due to his civil rights work but it is the navy choosing to name something after him because he was a navy man. Robert Kennedy also served in the navy. Had they served in the army the navy would be less likely to want to name ships after them. Which is why it is surprising they are naming a ship after Warren because he served in the army in ww1

It isn't really that unusual. Military Sealift Command ships are named after notable Americans with little to no connection to the military all the time. This is the first time a class as been specifically designated to honor civil rights pioneers, though.

I was replying to the post about conservatives going apeshit but didn't put it in the right place.

Ah! Gotcha. Sorry about the snark then!

I heard they're naming a ship after him, too.

This report provides relevant background on US navy ship naming: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22478.pdf

For ship types now being procured for the Navy, or recently procured for the Navy, naming rules can be summarized as follows:  Aircraft carriers are generally named for past U.S. Presidents. Of the last 14, 10 were named for past U.S. Presidents, and 2 for Members of Congress.  Virginia (SSN-774) class attack submarines are being named for states.  Destroyers are named for deceased members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including Secretaries of the Navy.  Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) are being named for regionally important U.S. cities and communities.  Amphibious assault ships are being named for important battles in which U.S. Marines played a prominent part, and for famous earlier U.S. Navy ships that were not named for battles.  San Antonio (LPD-17) class amphibious ships are being named for major U.S. cities and communities, and cities and communities attacked on September 11, 2001.  John Lewis (TAO-205) class oilers, previously known as TAO(X)s, are being named for people who fought for civil rights and human rights.  Lewis and Clark (TAKE-1) class cargo and ammunition ships were named for famous American explorers, trailblazers, and pioneers.  Expeditionary Fast Transports (EPFs), previously called Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSVs), are being named for small U.S. cities.  Expeditionary Transport Docks (ESDs) and Expeditionary Sea Bases (ESBs), which were previously called Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) ships and Afloat Forward Staging Bases (AFSBs), respectively, are being named for famous names or places of historical significance to U.S. Marines.

So basically there has been reserved a class of ships (oilers) that are all going to be named after Civil Rights activists.

I can already imagine the shit storm that will come from republicans and conservative media.

Good. Let it. That fuse can only burn so long before there's nothing left and it fizzles out.

That's surprising, given Milk's support for Jim Jones and his People's Temple[1,2], whose followers murdered a U.S. congressman and committed mass suicide.

[1] http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=16566 [2] http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/02/in-defence-of-jim-jones...

Milky McMilkface?

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