US President Barack Obama on Friday certified the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) , the controversial policy barring openly gay individuals from serving in the military. The repeal was also certified by newly sworn-in Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and delivered to Congress. Panetta called the change “essential to the effectiveness of our all-volunteer force.” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said that he “believe the U.S. armed forces are ready for the implementation of the repeal of Dont Ask, Dont Tell.” Obama praised the repeal:

Today, we have taken the final major step toward ending the discriminatory Dont Ask, Dont Tell law that undermines our military readiness and violates American principles of fairness and equality. … As Commander in Chief, I have always been confident that our dedicated men and women in uniform would transition to a new policy in an orderly manner that preserves unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness. Todays action follows extensive training of our military personnel and certification by Secretary Panetta and Admiral Mullen that our military is ready for repeal. As of September 20th, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country. Our military will no longer be deprived of the talents and skills of patriotic Americans just because they happen to be gay or lesbian.

The repeal will take effect in 60 days.

Obama signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 into law in December, shortly after it was approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives . Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered DADT to remain partially in place in order for the court to fully consider the issues concerning the policy’s complete repeal. The Ninth Circuit had previously ordered a halt to the policy’s enforcement, prompting the Obama administration to ask the court to reinstate the policy until the repeal process was complete.

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