Rebuffed by Fort Bragg spouses club, lesbian Army wife named base's 'spouse of the year'

[joeybee12]

An Army wife, denied full membership at a Fort Bragg spouses club because she's married to a female Army officer, was named Fort Bragg’s 2013 “spouse of the year” Friday after an annual, national vote that spanned nominees from all military branches, NBC News has learned.

In the online election held Tuesday, Ashley Broadway captured the Fort Bragg vote “by a country mile,” said Babette Maxwell, founder of Military Spouse magazine and the Military Spouse of the Year award. Ballot totals were not revealed. As one of the 154 base-level winners, Broadway now is eligible to be nominated for Army “spouse of the year.”

"A lot of people who voted never me met or talked to me or knew me from Adam. I know it was a statement to the Obama Administration, to Secretary (of Defense Leon) Panetta, to Senator (Chuck) Hagel — if he is confirmed (as defense secretary) — to the Pentagon and, really, to America that, yes, she is a military spouse and she needs to be recognized,” Broadway told NBC News.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/24/16686603-rebuffed-by-fort-bragg-spouses-club-lesbian-army-wife-named-bases-spouse-of-the-year?lite

[TwilightGardener]

1. Everybody do themselves a favor and don't read the comments.

No need to ruin a nice story.

[joeybee12]

2. Thanks for the heads-up...

I usually avoid Yahoo commments...didn't think MSNBC would be bad also!

[TwilightGardener]

4. Lots of appalling, vulgar comments, and they weren't hiding them very well.

Surprising for MSNBC. I almost always read comments on news stories, but like you, I've learned not to bother with Yahoo. Or CNN, for that matter.

[ProgressiveJarhead]

6. NBC

Not quite MSNBC.

[Solly Mack]

3. K&R

[valerief]

5. Nice story, but I had to make this comment.

The names Ashley Broadway and Babette Maxwell are way cool names. Tres superstarish.

[Tx4obama]

7. UPDATE: Wife of female Army officer can join spouses club

Wife of female Army officer can join spouses club

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A woman who is married to a female Army officer at Fort Bragg and who was recently denied membership in its officers' spouses club said late Friday that she has been invited to become a full member.

Ashley Broadway told the Associated Press that she received the invitation from the club's board in an email Friday.

The invitation came on the same day that Broadway also learned she'd been named Fort Bragg's 2013 "Military Spouse of the Year" by Military Spouse magazine. She is married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack, who gave birth this week to the couple's second child, a baby girl.

"I'm pleased, I'm happy," Broadway said by phone Friday night. "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."

"Looking back, it's been a blessing in disguise because people are talking... in Washington, this is being talked about," she added.

-snip-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130126/us-military-same-sex-couples/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage

[Hekate]

8. Changing times -- hallelujah.

[struggle4progress]

9. kick