President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2013, and typical with this particular bill, the signing was accompanied with a signing statement. For those who watch the signing statement, the NDAA is a much watch piece of legislation because it almost always sparks a signing statement.
There is a great deal to look over in Obama's signing statement--the one that received a great deal of attention was Obama's ongoing struggle with the Congress over the issue of enemy detainees--whether they can be transfered to a 3d party country or whether they can be tried in the U.S.--most importantly whether we can close down Gitmo. This particular struggle has been in every one of the NDAA bills Obama has signed, and has warranted his response in each one.
I will save my commentary on the signing statement for another blog post, because it clearly violates Obama's memo on the signing statement issued back in 2009.
What I want to focus on is Section 533 of the bill, which ostensibly protects military clergy from doing anything that may violate their "sincerely held moral principles & religious beliefs." While it sounds like something to applaud--and in fact is redudant--there is an underlying reason for its appearance in this bill. Section 533 is designed to insulate and protect from military punishment any clergy who refuses to counsel or marry military personnel who are homosexuals.
In Obama's signing statement, he writes that the "Secretary of Defense will ensure that the implementing regulations do not permit or condone discriminatory actions that compromise good order and discipline or otherwise violate military codes of conduct." While Obama maintains he is committed to ending Dont Ask, Don't Tell, and to "protecting the rights of gay and lesbian service members," it should be asked whether his Secretary of Defense holds the same commitment in light of the Hagel's past views on homosexuality.
