The officers' spouses club at Fort
Bragg has reversed course, inviting a lesbian wife who had previously
been denied membership to become a full member.
Ashley Broadway, whose wife, Lt. Col.
Heather Mack, gave birth this week to the couple's second child, a
baby girl, told the AP that she received the invitation from the board
of the Association of Bragg Officers Spouses in an email Friday.
“I'm pleased, I'm happy,” Broadway
said. “As soon as things calm down with the baby, I want to get
involved. I hate that it took so long for them to come to this
conclusion. But I think things happen for a reason. I'm a very
devout Christian. I've had faith in God this whole time. I think if
anything it's brought up a larger issue: We have two classes of
service members and how they're … not treated equally.”
Also on Friday, Broadway found out that
Military Spouse magazine had named her Fort Bragg's 2013
“Military Spouse of the Year.”
“Looking back, it's been a blessing
in disguise because people are talking … in Washington, this is
being talked about,” Broadway added.
In an earlier appearance on CNN,
Broadway said she was denied admittance into the club because she
does not have a military issued ID card. The Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA) does not permit the military to recognize Mack's marriage to
Broadway.