If a woman can be president, she should be eligible for the draft, too.
Last week, the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives voted 32-30 on an amendment that would mandate women to register for the military draft.
The amendment is attached to a larger military funding bill that passed the committee 60-2 on April 28.
American men have long been required to register for the Selective Service draft, even though the United States has not drafted men to war since 1973.
While the bulk of the military funding bill that passed the Armed Services Committee is ludicrous — it cuts $18 billion from the Pentagon’s warfighting account for weapons the Pentagon didn’t request — the amendment adding women to the draft is correct and overdue.
In December, the Pentagon decided to lift gender restrictions on combat roles. Women can now serve as infantry, just as men do. Even before that decision, women have served in support roles for years within the U.S. military. They have served as fighter pilots, ship captains and logisticians. They have served at every rank, from seaman and private to admiral and general.
In February, Gen. Mark Milley, the Army’s chief of staff, and Gen. Robert Neller, the Marine Corps commandant, told the Senate Armed Services Committee they believe women should register for the draft.
“Senator, I think that all eligible and qualified men and women should register for the draft,” Milley said at one point.
There have been numerous lawsuits over the equity of the male-only draft. In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rostker v. Goldberg that the male-only draft was Constitutional because, as Justice William Rehnquist wrote, “The existence of the combat restrictions clearly indicates the basis for Congress’ decision to exempt women from registration.”
Now that those combat restrictions have been eliminated, the chief legal argument against a male-only draft has been removed. Including women in the Selective Service system might not just be a good idea. It might be the law.
We hope the draft is never needed, but it is a necessary tool in the arsenal of democracy. The United States should have a pool of men and women ready and able to serve in any emergency. The Selective Service registry is our way of stocking the larder.
The quest for perfect equality in the United States is far from over, but our country has been a world leader of progressive change on many fronts for many people and groups over the decades. Allowing American women to sign up for the draft is yet another important step toward equality for all.
