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The United States Naval Ship
Harvey Milk - named after the assassinated gay rights activist and politician - was christened on Saturday
by a transgender veteran, to both praise and cries of "vile nonsense."
The USNS
Harvey Milk was christened in San Diego, California in a traditional Navy ceremony, with Milk's nephew, Stuart Milk, in attendance.
Milk,
who became an American LGBT icon as the first openly gay official elected in the state of California, served in the US Navy in the 1950s before being discharged over his sexuality. Less than a year after he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Advisers, Milk was assassinated in November 1978 by fellow board member Dan White, who had clashed with Milk over city policy.
A bottle of champagne was smashed on the USNS
Harvey Milk on Saturday in the traditional manner
by transgender Navy veteran Paula M. Neira, who currently works as a director for the John Hopkins Center for Transgender Health and as an assistant professor for plastic and reconstructive surgery.
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