The "certification" process will likely take another year.
But this is a happy day nonetheless. And once again, I place the credit for justice squarely with the courts of law. If a federal judge had not ruled DADT unconstitutional with an outright ban breathing down the stiff necks of congress, I don't think this vote for repeal authorization would ever have happened.
But whichever way it came about, and however pesky long it takes to implement, the good is done. And discharges formally stop immediately. It's possible that open enlistment may be instituted early in the year. So for all intents and purposes, really, DADT is history.
Sigh, now for ENDA, DOMA and Marriage Equality. The tougher stuff. The battle to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, which had vast majority support in the nation, does not give me hope the fight for the more important items will be anything less than brutal.
Here's hoping for a bit of domino effect.