America's military yesterday began accepting openly gay recruits into

its ranks for the first time in its history as the controversial "don't

ask, don't tell" policy suffered another serious blow.

The move

comes after California judge Virginia Phillips ruled last week that the

policy – which had previously seen openly gay soldiers kicked out of the

US armed services – was illegal, and ordered a global injunction to

halt it.

Though the Obama administration

is seeking to appeal against that legal decision, the Pentagon has now

told its recruiters across the country to accept applications from

openly gay men and women.

However, the situation remains dogged by uncertainty. Some gay rights

activists have warned that gay applicants should still not reveal their

sexuality for fear that the policy may be reinstated if the

government's appeal is successful. At the same time, the Pentagon advice

to military recruiters directs them not to inquire of a person's

sexuality, and not to disqualify any candidates who openly admit to

being gay. It also adds that any such recruits should be warned that

"don't ask, don't tell" could come back into force if the legal

injunction quashing it is overturned.

"If they were to self-admit

that they are gay and want to enlist, we will process them for

enlistment, but will tell them that the legal situation could change,"

Douglas Smith, spokesman for US army recruiting command based at Fort

Knox in Kentucky, told the Associated Press.

Getting rid of "don't

ask, don't tell" has long been one of the main aims of gay rights

groups in America, who argue that it is highly discriminatory in a way

that would not be tolerated of any other social group. But it has now

become a political headache for the Obama administration.

The

president has frequently publicly committed himself to ditching the ban,

but has stated he wants it to be removed by a vote in Congress, not by

the actions of a judge. As such, the department of justice has committed

itself to appealing against the injunction halting the policy in the

hope of getting rid of it later with a political vote.

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Many

Republicans, including former presidential candidate John McCain, have

spoken out in favour of keeping the ban. Previous attempts to ditch it

with a congressional vote have failed and Obama's political influence on

such a controversial subject is waning as Democrats gear up for a

potentially devastating defeat in November's midterm elections.

That

has left gay groups arguing that the best option to get rid of an

unjust practice is simply not to appeal against Phillips's ruling, which

the judge herself reinforced yesterday by refusing a government legal

request to delay enforcement of her injunction. That was met by further

delight among gay rights organisations.

"[We] applaud Justice

Phillips for her leadership helping end such a discriminatory policy,"

said a statement from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The

uncertain status of the law has caused much confusion within an

institution that has historically discriminated against gay people.

Before the 1993 law, the military banned them and declared them

incompatible with military service.

There have been instances in which gays have served, with the knowledge of their colleagues.

Twenty-nine

nations, including Israel, Canada, Germany and Sweden, allow openly gay

troops, according to the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group and

plaintiff in the lawsuit before Phillips.