A federal judge in Riverside has ordered the military to stop discharging openly gay service members under the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips, who declared the policy unconstitutional last month, rejected the Obama administration’s request to delay an injunction that blocks enforcement of the policy while it is before Congress, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The order applies across the nation and halts any continuing military investigations and proceedings to discharge personnel suspected of being gay, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Phillips stated in her ruling in the case last month that the policy harms service members by "infringing on their fundamental rights."
President Obama has called the policy discriminatory and has urged Congress to repeal it, though the government is defending the policy in court. The House voted to repeal the policy in May, but a Republican-led filibuster blocked a vote in the Senate.
