Marine Corps Judge Advocate Says Base Spouse Clubs Must Admit Same-Sex Spouses

AP reported yesterday that the Marine Corps Staff Judge Advocate has advised its legal officers that spouses clubs operating on Marine bases must admit same-sex spouses. Private organizations are permitted to operate on military bases only if they do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, disability and national origin.  The Staff Judge Advocate advised: "We would interpret a spouses club’s decision to exclude a same-sex spouse as sexual discrimination because the exclusion was based upon the spouse’s sex." The memo was issued after a controversy last month at the Army's Fort Bragg base where a same-sex spouse was denied membership in the Association of Bragg Officer’s Spouses. God and Country blog covers the Marine Corps' latest action.