Should Obama still "certifiy" DADT repeal

[ruggerson]

even though it would just be a symbolic ceremony at this point, since the law has already been struck down by the courts, and the administration/military is apparently complying with the court order?

My initial thought is yes - because though it will be nothing more than a ceremonial occasion, it will get plenty of play in the media. And the images of Pannetta and Obama "certifying" the repeal might get through the media haze a bit and help reinforce the message that an anti-LGBT discriminatory statute has been stricken from the books.

[izquierdista]

1. I don't think Pastor Rick would like that

Do you want Obama to rock his good buddy's boat?

[pnwmom]

2. Yes. Couldn't there be an appeal of the lower court ruling?

And the military was already set up to comply with the court order because of the work they'd been doing on DADT.

[ruggerson]

3. there was an appeal of the lower court ruling along with a stay granted in Dec

but the 9th circuit lifted the stay, so currently the law is officially dead. Presumably, any repeal of a law which has already been declared unconstitutional is just a symbolic exercise. But the ceremony itself could be useful.

[Long Shadow]

4. I thought he already did that.

Didn't he have to sign it before it became law?

[ruggerson]

6. the language of the repeal mandated a delay of its implementation

until Obama, Pannetta and the Head of the Joint Chiefs certify that the military is ready for the change. A soldier just a couple of weeks ago was informed that he was up for discharge under DADT - so the law remained in effect.

Then last week a 9th Circuit panel ordered a lifting of the stay that had been granted after the statute had been found unconstitutional by a Federal court last December (a ruling the Obama admin appealed).

On Friday, the Pentagon announced it would comply with the Court's order completely and they officially stopped kicking out gay soldiers and started to accept new gay recruits.

[Creideiki]

5. Obama can't appeal to his base if he certifies.

Not that he's really had a fire lit under his butt to take care of this.

[Pab Sungenis]

7. Yes.

Will he? Who knows, now that he doesn't need our votes.

[Unvanguard]

8. Yes. Only certification completes repeal.

A statute that can't be enforced is still a statute on the books. Just as all the anti-sodomy laws still on the books should be repealed, we should rid the U.S. Code of DADT.

[Tx4obama]

11. Here's a tidbit of news that I just came across

July 6, 2011

Excerpt:

The Pentagon will comply with the court order and is taking immediate steps to inform commanders in the field, said spokesman Col. Dave Lapan.

The next step: the official end to "don't ask, don't tell."

Defense officials said the chiefs of the military services are scheduled to submit their recommendations on the repeal to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Friday. As soon as the Pentagon certifies that repealing the ban will have no effect on military readiness, the military has 60 days to implement the repeal.

Officials said they believe the ban could be fully lifted by the end of September. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The services have been training their forces on the new law for the past several months. The Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps are largely done with the training, and the Army is on track to finish the active duty training by July 15.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7642279.html#ixzz1RmIzikyR


The 'Friday' mentioned in the bold text was last Friday July 8th, so we'll probably see some movement regarding signing of the certification pretty soon.

[Unvanguard]

12. I saw that last week. Haven't heard a thing since though. n/t

[mitchtv]

9. yes

[Tx4obama]

10. The 'ceremony' already took place when the president signed the repeal into law on 12/24/2010

Photo: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=706127&mesg_id=706476

I don't think that there will be an additional 'ceremony' when he signs the certification in a week or two,
since he already had an official signing ceremony when he signed the Repeal of DADT bill - the certification process/document is only one part of the whole bill.