Lesbian Wife of Lt.Col. Denied Full Membership at ABOS.

Ft. Bragg Spouse Offered Guest Membership

The Association of Bragg Officers’ Spouses (ABOS) offered Ashley Broadway, married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack, a ‘special guest membership’ at the Army Spouses Club.  But Broadway took offense, calling the offer “extremely demeaning.  The military treats us as ‘second-class’ citizens.(see “Gay Military Spouses Face Fight for Acceptance Amid Rules Against Them,” The New York Times, January 20, 2013).

The lesbian couple were married last November in a formal ceremony after the 2011 repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”( That policy kept gays from openly serving in the military).  Broadway and Mack have a two year-old son Carter Mack and are due to have another child soon. Lt. Col. Mack has been in the Army for seventeen years.

Broadway’s Beef

Broadway told NBC News on January 17th that “I’m either going to be a member or not.  I applied to be a full member with a vote.” The guest membership, in her opinion, treats her less than equal.  She has turned down the offer of the ABOS.

According to Broadway, her membership application was rejected because she didn’t have a military spouse identification card.  But that rule was allegedly added later after Broadway asked to join the club last month.

Stephen Peters, president of the American Military Partner Association, a Washington, D.C. –based support and resource network for lesbian and gay military families, relayed to NBC News that the screenshots of the Facebook page and ABOS website show that the sites were changed retroactively to add the requirement of an ID card after Ashley applied for membership. “There is no valid reason,” according to Peters, “why she should not be offered full membership as outlined in the organization’s by-laws.”

The Valid I.D. Card

The U.S. Military does not explicitly require a valid (Department of Defense) I.D. Card but some member benefits and events do require a valid DoD Card, according to the Club.( These cards are routinely given to heterosexual military members). On Friday, December 7, ABOS received Broadway’s letter requesting reconsideration and three days later, a similar letter to its President Mary Ring was published on the group’s website.

Since the by-laws were written and adopted well before the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the term ‘Spouse’ is not defined.  In a separate email to NBC News, the club’s board maintained that Broadway was never rejected, but told that the club would need “time to look at the issue.”

On December 9, the U.S. Marine Corps, in response to Broadway’s denial, issued a branch-wide directive that same-sex spouses be allowed to participate in spouses clubs at all Marine bases. They must admit same-sex spouses since all such private groups must comply with a nondiscriminatory policy.

What Out-Serve Seeks

OutServe-SLDN, a leading advocacy group for LGBT service members and veterans announced on January 17, 2013 that it had filed a Freedom of Information Act) request at Fort Bragg to obtain documents and correspondence relating to the Officers’ spouses club’s refusal to admit a same-sex spouse.

The FOIA wants information about communications received by or sent from Ft. Bragg’s Army installation’s commanding officer, Lt. Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, and several others regarding “the operation, continued operation, or membership or admission policies or practices of the Club.”

OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson said “gay and lesbian military families at Fort Bragg and throughout the armed services deserve to know if their chain of command is working for them or against them.  If there is a coordinated effort that would undermine the principle that every service member and his or her family should be treated impartially, our nation’s leaders at the Pentagon need to know as well.”

The Pentagon’s Decision

On Tuesday, January 15th, the Pentagon supported the decision of Fort Bragg’s Army leaders not to intervene in the case.  The legal basis for the Pentagon’s stance is Department of Defense “instruction” drafted in 2008, three years before the repeal of the DADT policy.  The directive states that “non-federal entities” operating on U.S. military installations don’t discriminate on the basis of “race, color, creed, sex, age, disability, or national origin.” It does not mention discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

Broadway Nominated for Award

Ashley has been nominated for the Ft. Bragg Military Spouse of the Year award.  She is one of ten Bragg spouses nominated for the award from that base.