From Draft NOtices, April-June 2021
Draft Registration Developments
— Rick Jahnkow
As of the writing of this update, we are waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of male-only draft registration.
Earlier in the case, there were conflicting decisions by a federal district court judge and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The district court judge said that because women were now eligible for combat jobs in the military, a 1981 Supreme Court decision upholding male-only registration was no longer valid. The appeals court, on the other hand, overruled the district court and said that only the Supreme Court itself could reverse its earlier decision. The plaintiff in the lawsuit, the National Coalition for Men, then took the next step and petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case. The ACLU is handling the appeal.
A response to the appeal is now pending from the U.S. government and is due April 14. Afterward, the Supreme Court will decide whether or not to take up the case.
In the meantime, there have been some moves in Congress toward legislation that would require women to begin registering for the draft. Language to that effect is expected to either be included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act or introduced as a separate bill.
It is also expected that a bill will be introduced that would terminate the Selective Service System, end draft registration, and repeal federal laws that were previously enacted to prohibit non-registrants from applying for federal job training programs, civil service jobs, and citizenship. (Language that will restore their eligibility for federal student aid passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.)
A collection of anti-draft groups is now doing outreach via social media and other methods to mobilize support for ending draft registration for all. Videos are being posted on Tik Tok, and hashtags like the following are being used to get the word out on various social media platforms: #SelectiveService, #NoDraftWomen, #EliminatetheDraft, #Womenforpeace
For more information, contact COMD (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or visit 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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