US military forced to end 'don't ask, don't tell' gay ban

The US military has been forced to accept openly gay recruits for the first time, even as it tries in the courts to slow the movement to end its "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

At least three service members discharged for being gay began the process to re-enlist after the Pentagon's announcement, and others said they planned to try to rejoin this week.

A Californian federal judge who overturned the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy last week rejected the government's latest effort to halt her order, telling the military to stop enforcing the law.

Government lawyers told Judge Virginia Phillips before her ruling that they would appeal if she rejected their request.

The movement to overturn the Clinton-era law gained speed when President Barack Obama campaigned for its repeal. The effort stalled in Congress this autumn, but found new life last month when Judge Phillips declared it unconstitutional.

Under "don't ask, don't tell", the military cannot inquire into service members' sexual orientation and punish them for it as long as they keep it to themselves.

"Gay people have been fighting for equality in the military since the 1960s," said Aaron Belkin, executive director of the Palm Centre, a think tank on gays and the military at the University of California Santa Barbara. "It took a lot to get to this day."

The defence department said it would comply with Judge Phillips's order and had stopped any discharge cases.