Changing the Military Draft: It s Not Really About Women
Members of the first group under the peacetime Selective Service Act raise their right hands as they are sworn into the Army in a ceremony performed front of the Los Angeles City Hall, Nov. 18, 1940. (AP Photo)
9 Jun 2021 The Conversation | By Max Margulies and Amy Rutenberg
Max Margulies is Director of Research, Assistant Professor of International Affairs, United States Military Academy West Point.
Amy Rutenberg is Associate Professor of History, Iowa State University.
The Supreme Court has declined to hear arguments in the case of National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System. In doing so, it acceded to the Biden administration s wishes that it not address the question of whether women should join the millions of young men required to register each year with the Selecti
Government Executive
email Congress Considers Future of the Military Draft, while Supreme Court Holds Off
Questions include whether women should be compelled to register, as men are, and whether the draft and draft registration should exist at all.
Assistant Professor of International Affairs, West PointThe Conversation
The Supreme Court has declined to hear arguments in the case of National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System. In doing so, it acceded to the Biden administration’s wishes that it not address the question of whether women should join the millions of young men required to register each year with the Selective Service – the federal agency responsible for the draft. It will now be up to Congress to decide what, if anything, to do with the law governing registration and the draft.
Extend draft to women? Supreme Court could help decide
Jessica Gresko
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON The Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether it’s sex discrimination for the government to require only men to register for the draft when they turn 18.
The question of whether it’s unconstitutional to require men but not women to register could be viewed as one with little practical impact. The last time there was a draft was during the Vietnam War, and the military has been all-volunteer since. But the registration requirement is one of the few remaining places where federal law treats men and women differently, and women’s groups are among those arguing that allowing it to stand is harmful.