From the Advocate:
DADT Repeal Could Be Certified Friday
By Andrew Harmon
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen are prepared to recommend repeal certification of “don’t ask, don’t tell” as early as Friday, Defense officials confirmed with The Advocate.
"This afternoon, the president will meet with the secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs to review the certification of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," according to a White House spokesman.
Both the Wall Street Journal and NBC News first reported on Thursday that Mullen and Panetta, who was sworn in as Defense Secretary three weeks ago following the retirement of Secretary Robert Gates, will report to the president that lifting the ban on openly gay service members is consistent with standards of military readiness and unit cohesion.
President Obama said in a June LGBT Pride Month reception at the White House that DADT repeal certification was coming in “weeks, not months.” After the President certifies repeal, a 60-day-waiting period will follow before the policy is finally dropped, meaning that DADT would no longer be enforced by late September. A recent order from the ninth circuit court of appeals already bars the military from further discharges and investigations under the policy.
Read the rest at the Advocate.
