From Military.com:
“Government Appeals Judge's
Ruling That Found Male-Only Draft Unconstitutional”
The Justice Department has
appealed a Texas judge's ruling that the country's male-only draft registration
system is unconstitutional. Attorneys for the Selective Service System filed
paperwork Monday over a ruling in February by Houston-based Judge Gray Miller,
who decided that the U.S. government's requirement that only male U.S. citizens
register for a potential draft is discriminatory under the Fifth Amendment's
equal protection clause. Miller stopped short of ordering the Selective System
to include women, and it continues to require that only men register at age 18.
But the federal government appealed the case after the plaintiffs this month
requested a motion to expand the ruling to require that either both genders
register, or neither do. In its opposition to the request, the government
argued that such a decision would be "particularly problematic.""
It would impose a draft registration on all eligible American women by judicial
fiat before Congress has considered how to address the matter. No party before
this Court represents the interests of those who would be impacted by
this," wrote Justice Department attorney Michael Gerardi on April 15. The
appeal now moves the case to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It was
initially filed in 2013 by Texas resident James Lesmeister and San Diego
resident Anthony Davis, backed by the National Coalition for Men, who argued
that it is discriminatory because it precludes 50 percent of the population
from draft eligibility. The legal case continues as a congressional commission
debates whether the country needs a system for a military draft and who should
be required to register. The National Commission on Military, National and
Public Service is expected to release a report next year on recommendations for
the Selective Service System and other federal opportunities for public
service. Between February and June, the commission plans 14 public hearings on
public and military service. On April 24 in Washington, D.C., members will hear
from experts on the need for compulsory or voluntary military mobilization and
national emergencies. The next day, they will consider arguments for and
against the current male-only system and future requirements. In his argument
against an injunction, Gerardi said that a judicial ruling before the
commission has issued its findings would be inappropriate. "It should be
left to Congress in consultation with the executive branch and military
officials, to determine how to revise the registration system in
response."
^ It seems the Federal Government
is just stalling. They have had years to deal with this – ever since women were
allowed in combat and all over areas of the Military – and they did little to
nothing in those years to resolve this issue. I am all for women being treated
equally as men, but that equality also extends to registering for the Selective
Service. If men are required to do it than women also have to be required to do
it. I don’t see how this will be problematic. If the Selective Service is kept then
women will just have to go online and register the same way men have to go
online to register. If the Selective Service is done away with then both men
and women don’t have to do a thing. Doesn’t sound very problematic to me. ^
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