PASADENA, Calif. -- With the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" less than three weeks away, the Obama administration asked a federal appeals court Thursday to discard the lawsuit challenging the ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers and a judge's ruling that declared it unconstitutional.

"Once 'don't ask, don't tell' has been ended in 19 days, that is the end of this case, and there's nothing for this court to do," Justice Department lawyer Henry Whitaker told the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held the hearing in Pasadena.

But Dan Woods, lawyer for the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay rights organization that sued to overturn the law seven years ago, said some of the 14,000 service members discharged since 1993 still need judicial protection.

Those with less-than-honorable discharges are ineligible for veterans' benefits and cannot be buried in military cemeteries, and some have been sued by the government to recoup loans, Woods said. He also noted that some Republican presidential candidates have called for reinstating the 1993 law.

To read the full story, click HERE.