Lesbian Wife Denied Membership In Military Spouses Group
A North Carolina military spouses group told the wife of a gay service member that she was not welcome in the group.
Ashley Broadway published a letter Monday at the website of the American Military Partner Association stating that, despite being married to Army Lt. Col. Heather Mack, she was told by a representative of the Association of Bragg Officers’ Spouses that she did “not qualify” for membership.
The group’s official reason for barring Broadway from joining was her lack of a military ID card — something only available currently to opposite-sex military spouses. But a review of the group’s previously published bylaws, provided to BuzzFeed, contains no mention of an ID requirement. And it wasn’t until after Broadway published her letter that the group added any mention of an “active ID card” requirement to its website.
Broadway told BuzzFeed that the different treatment made no sense to her and said it especially stung given how long she had to keep her relationship a secret under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
The Pentagon has yet to comment.
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