Isn't it about time that gender discrimination end in these United States of America? What has become of the Women's Movement of the 1960's, 70's and 80's? Where are all the Women Libbers that used to march down the streets of New York and San Francisco, burning their bras and demanding equality? Why haven't we heard from the First Lady, Hillary, Nancy Pelosi, Tammy Baldwin, Patty Murray, Claire McCaskill? Why won't they speak out against this injustice in America?!

As a Citizen of this great country of ours, I demand that "The Military Selective Service Act" be Amended to allow women, age 18 through 25 to Register with the Selective Service System, and to put an end, once and for all, to gender discrimination across this land!

Sing it Helen!!!



____________________

We Are what We Do

Sounds like a good idea to me. I've always said that if the draft were ever reinstated, it should apply to men and women.

I've thought about this before. I don't see any of those you mentioned voluntarily jumping on that bandwagon though. It's a no brainer IMO. Reason being, if your daughter asked you why she doesn't have to register when guys do what do you say? Some way another your response is going to be interpreted as gender bias which continues the trend. Future generations won't ever think anything about it if it's changed. It will be the norm.

Why don't we just get rid of it? It's been decades since anybody has been drafted.

I guess it's easier to just be a dick to Democrats though. Instead of you know, solving the problem and reducing spending.

I think they keep it to have a list just in case it's needed.

I think that in this day and age, it would take DHS two weeks with a smart phone and a Facebook account to track down all the teenagers they needed.

Seriously...Couldn't the Social Security office handle this with about 12 more employees?

OGTS,
Have you ever seen the government do anything with 12 employees? At least double that (plus about a thousand for the administration of this function in Washington, D. C.) multiple that by every major city in the U. S. and we would have another bureaucracy That costs billions+ to operate.
C. T.
I think that in this day and age, it would take DHS two weeks with a smart phone and a Facebook account to track down all the teenagers they needed.

Seriously...Couldn't the Social Security office handle this with about 12 more employees?

The military generally doesn't want a draft and having it on the books actually speeds up the road to war, I think. I would like to think that if the draft were needed, we should stop and ponder on it long enough to have to recreate this wheel.

The military generally doesn't want a draft and having it on the books actually speeds up the road to war, I think. I would like to think that if the draft were needed, we should stop and ponder on it long enough to have to recreate this wheel.

While I agree the military generally does not want a draft, I think in actuality it slows down the road to war. It is a lot easier to prosecute a war if the general population is not affected by it. Look at WW2, general conscription, and those that did not go by and large either worked in a war industry or worked in an industry that supported the effort, such as agriculture. Victory came rather quickly. Fast forward to Viet Nam. Conscription was still the law of the land. When the lottery was instituted and deferments became harder to keep a wider swath of the populace was affected. Everyone had a friend or neighbor involved. As the war progressed and it was a stalemate the court of public opinion changed and demanded an end to it. Now in our day and age everything is contracted out to mercenary companies. The dollar cost for this is astronomical but the folks back home are not affected. The folks were not even affected by the cost as Iraq and Afghanistan were not included in the budget. It was off the books. The people of the USA by and large did not have an investment and the military industrial complex could reap huge profits with no complaints from the voters. The military has enjoyed a free hand when no one is looking over their shoulder. It used to be that it was a given that civilian leadership dictated to the military. Seems like now it is the military dictating to the civilian leadership. Meanwhile Afghanistan drags on. Really? 5 years to win WW2 and 13 years and still counting in Afghanistan. For these reasons I am all in favor of a requirement of two years of service either in the military, Peace Corp, or VISTA before being eligible to vote, get federal backed loans, etc.

Want to slow down war? Risk sending your granddaughter or someone's mama into harms way... Hate the draft but if we want equality, I say draft girls, too.

So, have to wonder if the Neanderthals who opposed drafting women to fight a war would be accused of waging a war on women. ;)

OGTS,
Have you ever seen the government do anything with 12 employees? At least double that (plus about a thousand for the administration of this function in Washington, D. C.) multiple that by every major city in the U. S. and we would have another bureaucracy That costs billions+ to operate.
C. T.

My only point is, the SSA already has all the information needed. Redundant service is redundant. They need 3 folks to code it, 2 folks to train people people on it, and 7 people to be in charge of it.


I looked it up though...This program only costs around 25 million a year to operate (it's on the internet so it must be true! BONJOUR!). That's not real money...Keep the doors open I guess.

OGTS,
I was being a little facetious, but with government, you never know. They seem to find ways to make everything more difficult than it should be.
C. T.
My only point is, the SSA already has all the information needed. Redundant service is redundant. They need 3 folks to code it, 2 folks to train people people on it, and 7 people to be in charge of it.


I looked it up though...This program only costs around 25 million a year to operate (it's on the internet so it must be true! BONJOUR!). That's not real money...Keep the doors open I guess.

As a Citizen of this great country of ours, I demand that "The Military Selective Service Act" be Amended to allow women, age 18 through 25 to Register with the Selective Service System, and to put an end, once and for all, to gender discrimination across this land!


I think you mean to require women 18 through 25 to register for selective service. Women can register they just aren't required to do it like men are. It'll happen sooner or later it was actually wrong before because men that were unfit for combat still had to register for selective service. I can't think of a reason why women wouldn't be required to now I don't what the Supreme Court would say about now. I don't think they can come up with any more excuses now.

I think you mean to require women 18 through 25 to register for selective service. Women can register they just aren't required to do it like men are.

Cocaine...When was the law changed to "women can register?" According to the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA), only "male citizens, aliens and noncitizen nationals who reside in the United States" can register. Unlike the 19th Amendment, the term/words "female citizen, woman, women" are not to be found in the MSSA. That's why the Congressional Women's Caucus ought to address this and put an end to this gender bias/discrimination.

The potential drafting of both parents of children would be a serious unintended consequence of this.

The potential drafting of both parents of children would be a serious unintended consequence of this.

Ah-Ha! So, the fellas in the smoke-filled back room are preserving/protecting "Motherhood?"

If I am not mistaken (and I might be), they stopped drafting siblings before the Vietnam War. I don't know why they wouldn't make a similar exemption for drafting of the second parent or of a custodial parent. I personally would favor granting the custodial parent an exemption and if they share custody, do it by lottery.

Ah-Ha! So, the fellas in the smoke-filled back room are preserving/protecting "Motherhood?"

Lots of dads are primary caregivers, these days, especially if they can work from home.

PennyQuilts...I was the Primary Custodial Parent and I was sent overseas several months before Desert Shield. The children then went to live with their Mother. Then she was sent overseas during Desert Storm. The children then went out-of-state to be cared for by my ex's Mother. Naturally, we had to go to Court to straighten all that out when we came back.

I recall seeing a story, not that long ago, on one of the local news stations, in which both Father and Mother were deployed to Afghanistan, to the same base together. So, in an all-volunteer Army, there are no exceptions/exemptions when your number comes up to pack your bags.

In Oklahoma, we have the (I think this is not Constitutional when the temporary placement is not with the other parent) Deployed Parents' Act. It requires the deploying custodial parent to jump through a number of hoops, but it does accommodate them by allowing them to appear via teleconference. In a nutshell, it allows that parent to designate a third party to receive the deploying parent's custodial time and requires things to revert back to normal when the deployed parent returns home. In Oklahoma, the possibility of a deployment or of an actual deployment cannot be used as a change in circumstances to change custody, so if you play your cards right as the custodial deploying parent, you have nothing to worry about.

PennyQuilts...I was the Primary Custodial Parent and I was sent overseas several months before Desert Shield. The children then went to live with their Mother. Then she was sent overseas during Desert Storm. The children then went out-of-state to be cared for by my ex's Mother. Naturally, we had to go to Court to straighten all that out when we came back.

I recall seeing a story, not that long ago, on one of the local news stations, in which both Father and Mother were deployed to Afghanistan, to the same base together. So, in an all-volunteer Army, there are no exceptions/exemptions when your number comes up to pack your bags.
Yes, but I was talking specifically about if they brought back the draft and included women. Thank you for your service - and your family. That is a lot to ask of any family.

I'm wondering if it was a shared decision for the kids to go to their mom when you were deployed?

If I am not mistaken (and I might be), they stopped drafting siblings before the Vietnam War.

pq, I believe you may be thinking about this.

U.S. Senate: Reference Home > Is it true that . . . > (http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/Sullivan_Brothers.shtml)

I was draft age during the Vietnam War and never heard about any restrictions on drafting brothers.

Apparently there is no law however, I found the following on Wikepedia. "As a direct result of the Sullivans' deaths (and the deaths of four of the Borgstrom brothers within a few months of each other two years later), the U.S. War Department adopted the Sole Survivor Policy.". The policy is "The Sole Survivor Policy or DoD Directive 1315.15 "Special Separation Policies for Survivorship" describes a set of regulations in the U.S. military that are designed to protect members of a family from the draft or from combat duty if they have already lost family members in military service.".
C. T.

pq, I believe you may be thinking about this.

U.S. Senate: Reference Home > Is it true that . . . > (http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/Sullivan_Brothers.shtml)

I was draft age during the Vietnam War and never heard about any restrictions on drafting brothers.

Yes, I am sure that is what I was thinking. And of course, that is different than how I remembered it - rather than not drafting them, they avoiding placing them in service where multiple siblings would face the same peril. Thanks for posting that. Was there also something about giving an exemption to an only son? I recall my father in law talking about that when I was young but never looked it up.

With the concerns being raised about combat zones, two parents of draft age, etc. This is why I favor a 2 year obligation of national service, not limited to the armed forces. Acceptable alternatives are Peace Corps, VISTA, working in a VA hospital etc. In the grand scheme of things, if the pool encompasses post HS 18 year olds, the ones with children are a small fraction of the whole and could be accommodated with some sort of public service. One of the intangible benefits is that people than have a common shared experience to draw upon.

With the concerns being raised about combat zones, two parents of draft age, etc. This is why I favor a 2 year obligation of national service, not limited to the armed forces. Acceptable alternatives are Peace Corps, VISTA, working in a VA hospital etc. In the grand scheme of things, if the pool encompasses post HS 18 year olds, the ones with children are a small fraction of the whole and could be accommodated with some sort of public service. One of the intangible benefits is that people than have a common shared experience to draw upon.

This is an idea I had years ago. When you serve others especially those in need you have whole different outlook on life. Military or some form of regimented (Regimented=You have to show up every day and do something and do it to the best of your abilities.) service should be a requirement for everyone. You could use it staff nursing homes, shelters, soup kitchens, hospitals, conservation corps, habitat for humanity, etc. I think as a country we would be more independent as people and as a society we would be doing more and complaining less.

I like the idea. And by requiring it across the board to every able bodied person, regardless of race, sex, income, etc., you give a shared experienced that crosses those lines. Obviously, there would need to be accommodations for issues of conscience - and then there are the people incarcerated or violent, people with babies and frail family members who need to be cared for, etc. I would like to see more family members caring for their own rather than bringing in low paid aides. Nothing against the aides whatsoever but just seems like family should take care of their own to make family units stronger. A young man caring for his aged great grandfather could gain so much wisdom and family history, for example.