Navy ship named after Giffords to be christened

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The Associated Press

From left; Former Missouri Rep. Ike Skelton, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., her husband Mark Kelly, and Roxanna Green, obscured, the mother of the nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green who was killed while attending the meeting of constituents when Giffords was shot, attend a ceremony at the Pentagon, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, to unveil the USS Gabrielle Giffords. The Navy has named a ship for Gabrielle Giffords, the recently retired congresswoman from Arizona who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head received in January 2011. (AP Photo Manuel Balce Ceneta)

TUCSON, Ariz. — Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords will attend the christening of a Navy ship named in her honor.

Giffords, of Arizona, will be at the Saturday christening of the USS Gabrielle Giffords in Mobile, Alabama.

Giffords was gravely wounded in the 2011 Tucson shooting that left six dead and 13 injured. She gave up her seat in Congress and later founded an organization that aims to increase gun control.

Officials say the aluminum vessel is 419 feet long and seven Littoral Combat Ships are currently under construction at Austal’s shipyard.

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