Military Wife Has Focus on What President Obama Will Do Next

Ashley Broadway with her son. Background: the Fort Bragg Officers' Spouses Club

The military wife who was denied membership in a club for officer's spouses because she married a woman has helped put attention on the White House and Pentagon for a next move.

Ashley Broadway, wife of Army Lt. Col. Heather Mack, said on Friday that she has finally been invited to become a full member of the Fort Bragg Officers' Spouses Club, according to the Associated Press. Plus the result of a vote of her peers named her Fort Bragg's 2013 "Military Spouse of the Year."

But that doesn't put the issue to rest, with even the American Military Partner Association calling on President Obama to act.

"This award further highlights the fact that same-sex military spouses are treated differently from their heterosexual counterparts," said AMPA president Stephen Peters in a statement. "Ashley Broadway, the new Fort Bragg Military Spouse of the Year, is still denied military benefits, official recognition from the Defense Department, and even a full membership to the post’s main officers’ spouses club.  We continue to anxiously wait for action from the White House and the Pentagon to correct this continuing injustice."

OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson said the award "only underscores how out of touch many of our military leaders are with the communities and the nation they serve." She said "it is past time for the Pentagon to catch up and honor the service and sacrifice of all military families."

The Washington Blade asked Press Secretary Jay Carney about the disparity still facing same-sex couples in the military, and he said Obama is committed to what he called further implementation of "don't ask, don't tell" repeal. "This is an issue the president is aware of and it has his attention," Carney said repeatedly.