A federal judge ordered an immediate end Tuesday to the Pentagon's enforcement of its ban on openly gay service members, rejecting the Obama administration's argument that an injunction to stop the "don't ask, don't tell" policy might harm military readiness.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips in California marks the first time that the controversial policy - which forbids the military to ask about a service member's sexual orientation but retains a ban on gays serving openly - has been halted.

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