From left, Petty Officer Autumn Sandeen, Lt. Dan Choi, Cpl. Evelyn Thomas, Capt. Jim Pietrangelo II, Cadet Mara Boyd and Petty Officer Larry Whitt stand together after they handcuffed themselves to the fence outside the White House in Washington during a protest for gay rights April 16. Friday, the Pentagon warned gay troops that in this “legally uncertain environment,” coming out now could have “adverse consequences for themselves or others.”

Annapolis, Md. ? When word came down of a judge’s ruling that gays could serve openly in the military, an Air Force officer received joyous congratulations from a comrade. Realizing there was someone in the room who didn’t know his sexual orientation, the officer pretended it was a joke and laughed it off.

He figured it was too soon — and too risky — to celebrate.

On Friday, the Pentagon agreed, warning gay troops that in this “legally uncertain environment,” coming out now could have “adverse consequences for themselves or others.” The warning came a day after the Obama administration asked a federal judge in California to stay her ruling overturning the Clinton-era “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy while the government prepares an appeal.

Like the Air Force officer, many gay service members interviewed by The Associated Press didn’t need to ask if it was OK to tell.

“I’m not coming out yet because of the repercussions I might get,” said an Army specialist at Fort Bragg, N.C., who, like others reached by the AP, did not want his name used. “I’ve got a year and a half left … and I don’t want just one day of me coming out to destroy all of what I worked for. I still want my benefits. I still want the military to pay for my college when I get out.”

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ordered the Pentagon to stop enforcing the 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops. The military promised to abide by the order as long as it remains in place, but gay rights advocates cautioned service members to avoid revealing their sexuality in the meantime.

The Air Force officer was at work on his military computer when news of Phillips’ ruling flashed up on CNN. A friend who knew his secret ran in and said, “You can come out of the closet now.”

“I had to push him out and kind of laugh it off with the other person there in the office,” the officer recalled. “It made me really, really nervous at first, because my first thought was, ‘Oh, crap. I just was outed, and I know that the policy is probably coming back. What do I do?”‘

For the rest of the day, the officer — co-founder of a support group called OutServe — was worried some other friend might inadvertently say something. He wondered if he should go home until things calmed down.

Then he thought to himself: “This is probably happening across other bases as well.”

President Barack Obama has made it clear that he wants the policy to end on his watch. But he wants Congress to make the change, not the courts. And when — or even if — that might happen is unclear. Repeal legislation has passed the House but run into Republican resistance in the Senate.