Fort Bragg Spouse Group Allows First Lesbian

Officers' club changes laws after initial denial
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2013 1:40 PM CST
Fort Bragg Spouse Group Allows First Lesbian
A file photo of troops at Fort Bragg.   (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Gays can now serve openly in the military, so it only follows that their husbands and wives can join military spouse groups, right? Right, although it took a formal review of the bylaws at Fort Bragg in North Carolina to make it so, reports BuzzFeed. The Association of Bragg Officers' Spouse turned down a membership request from Ashley Broadway in December, even though she is legally married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack. But Broadway announced yesterday that the group had changed its mind after reviewing its rules.

"I'm pleased, I'm happy," Broadway tells AP. "I hate that it took so long for them to come to this conclusion, but I think things happen for a reason." The couple have been married for 15 years and have two children, including a newborn delivered by Mack this week. But Broadway initially could not join the club because the fort would not give her anything more than the equivalent of a nanny's ID badge. (More Ashley Broadway stories.)

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