Government seeks stay of 'Don't ask, don't tell' ruling

The Obama administration on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to immediately suspend a judge's ruling that overturned the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays.

The administration says it wants the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco to take action on Wednesday. The federal government is preparing arguments for the appeals court on why the ruling on "don't ask, don't tell" should not be left in place.

The Obama administration says it is in favor of repealing the law, but that letting the ruling of U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips to go forward immediately would be a major problem for the military.

In its court filing Wednesday, the government said allowing Phillips' decision now "would create tremendous uncertainty about the status of servicemembers who may reveal their sexual orientation in reliance on the district court's decision and injunction."

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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