From Draft NOtices, October-December 2020
A New Legal Development Allows Draft Registration to Continue
— Rick Jahnkow
In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that male-only draft registration did not constitute gender discrimination because, at that time, women were excluded from military combat roles. In February 2020, a federal district court judge in Texas ruled that because women were no longer excluded from combat, the system of draft registration that only had consequences for males had become a form of unconstitutional gender discrimination. That judge’s ruling was subsequently appealed by the government to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
On August 13, a panel of judges for the Fifth Circuit ruled unanimously that only the U.S. Supreme Court could reverse its 1981 decision, and therefore unless that were to happen, male-only draft registration could continue. The plaintiff in the case, the National Coalition for Men (NCFM), is now investigating options for further appeals, possibly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It should be noted that the NCFM lawsuit challenges male-only registration but does not seek court action to force women to register. Only Congress could do that through legislation. A bill for that purpose has been proposed, but an opposing bill has also been introduced (HR 5492) that would totally eliminate draft registration and end the Selective Service System.
For additional information online, COMD recommends visiting http://Resisters.info
This article is from Draft NOtices, the newsletter of the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (http://www.comdsd.org/index.php/draft-notices).
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