In April 2010 a furor arose when it was reported that Mabus made the proposal to name a United States Navy warship the after the late Pennsylvania Democratic congressman John Murtha . Additional naming controversies occurred due to the naming of auxiliary ship after civil rights activist Cesar Chavez who has described his service in the U.S. Navy as " ... the worst two years in my life , " and a littoral combat ship after former Arizona Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords , after she suffered life-threatening wounds in the 2011 mass shooting in her home district of Tucson , Arizona
2011 mass shooting
2011 Tucson shooting
Ray Mabus