Obama plans to sign repeal of gay ban Wednesday

The White House says President Barack Obama will sign the repeal of the military's ban on openly gay service members on Wednesday morning at a Department of Interior auditorium.

With a stroke of his pen, the president will end the Pentagon's 17-year, "don't-ask, don't tell" policy. In repealing the ban, Obama will fulfill a 2008 presidential campaign promise.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs would not say how long it would take for the administration to implement the repeal. But he said he didn't expect it to be "overly burdensome." In letters to the troops over the weekend, the four military service chiefs warned that the ban is still in place, and will be for some time to come.

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

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