Ward, who's married to a female Airman 1st Class, asked to join The Little Rock Spouses' Club near Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, Arkansas, in September.

The club rejected Ward, she says, because she doesn't have a military-issued ID. But the group appears to be rethinking its stance.

Its website suggests the club might be considering new membership rules that a military ID card is not necessary to join, adding that no one should be blocked from membership because of sexual orientation.

"They've told me they're going to meet this month to decide," Ward said. "I hope they do the right thing."

But no luck for Broadway, whose name trended for weeks on Twitter. Her story is the talk in military circles, with Stars and Stripes writing about it and Fort Bragg's community posting comments online.

"This is about more than a spouse who wants to get into a club," says UCLA Law School's Aaron Belkin, who helped write the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

"This is about the Defense of Marriage Act and all the inequalities that come with it. It's about asking the question: Is the military really going to be serious about giving fair and equal treatment?"

Some of the other federal benefits that are available to married heterosexual couples but are denied to same-sex spouses include insurance and survivor's benefits. Straight spouses are able to file joint tax returns.

The U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments about the constitutionality of DOMA in March.

A spouse is a spouse

That offers little comfort to Broadway and her supporters, such as Bianca Strzalkowski, the 2011 Military Spouse of the Year. Hundreds of thousands of military members voted to give Strzalkowski that title, singling her out for her community service, patriotism and time spent helping military families. She lives in North Carolina but has no affiliation with the spouse club that rejected Broadway.

"It really makes me ill to think this is happening at Fort Bragg," she told CNN. "It's discrimination, plain and simple."

Strzalkowski is also the deputy membership director of Blue Star Families -- the largest military family support organization in the nation. A Blue Star column recently lambasted the spouse club for rejecting Broadway.

"Who would have thought a group whose sole existence is to help other military spouses and families would deny one of their own?..." military wife Molly Blake wrote. "Ashley Broadway -- I don't care if you are gay. I care that you are a dedicated military spouse who supports your soldier. I care that you want to be an example to other spouses and volunteer your time for the benefit of others.

"I care that you are willing to set up chairs and tables for fundraisers, bring new and innovative ways to raise money for our neediest military families, collate bid sheets, make brownies and raise your hand when the president needs a volunteer."

Strzalkowski's Marine husband is preparing to ship out on his fifth deployment, this time to Afghanistan.

"We've gone through 11 years of war, and we need to be supporting each other -- not treating each other like this," she said. "I don't feel that this club at Fort Bragg represents who we are as spouses."

No help from Bragg brass

CNN's many attempts to get the club's side of the story have been unsuccessful. Two women who confirmed that they belonged to the club chose not to comment.

A December 12 letter on the club's home page reads: "In response to recent interest in the membership requirements of our organization we will review the issue at our next board meeting." The letter doesn't indicate when the meeting will be.