The late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is back in the news.
That’s because the U.S. Navy, according to NBC News, has decided to name a ship after Ginsburg.
The type of ship that will bear Ginsburg’s name is a John Lewis-class replenishment oiler. That’s a fancy name for a Navy fuel ship, one tasked with fueling up the Navy’s operating carrier strike groups.
The decision to name the ship after Ginsburg was announced by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro on Thursday. The announcement came at the tail end of March, which is women’s appreciation month, and it appears that this was no coincidence.
“A historic figure”
It appears that Ginsburg’s so-called equal rights advocacy, particularly for women, is what earned her the honor of having a Navy ship named after her.
“As we close out women’s history month, it is my absolute honor to name the next T-AO after the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Del Toro said on Thursday. “She is a historic figure who vigorously advocated for women’s rights and gender equality.”
Del Toro went on to allude to the 1996 U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court struck down the Virginia Military Institute’s male-only admissions policy. Ginsburg was a big part of that decision.
“As Secretary of the Navy, it is my aim to ensure equality and eliminate gender discrimination across the Department of the Navy,” Del Toro said. “She is instrumental to why we now have women of all backgrounds, experiences, and talents serving within our ranks, side by side with their male Sailor and Marine counterparts.”
Background
This comes as part of the Navy’s convention of naming T-AO ships after individuals who have spent their lives advocating for so-called civil and human rights.
The convention began in 2021 with the Navy naming the T-AO 205 after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).
The ship that will bear Ginsburg’s name is the eighth ship in the class to be named in this way.
Breitbart News reports: “As well as Lewis, U.S. politician Harvey Milk, former California Gov. Earl Warren, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, abolitionist and suffragist Lucy Stone, abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and now Ginsburg will also be so honored.”
