(LibertySociety.com) – The Senate is expected to take up a drafted version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the coming weeks that includes a provision to require women to register for the Selective Service draft.
The bill, originally passed by the House in September, includes a section that would require women to sign up for the draft just like their male counterparts.
Most young men in the United States must register for Selective Service shortly after their 18th birthday, but women were always exempt. Now, that might change.
In 1980, when Congress mandated the draft registration for men, women couldn’t serve in the military in combat roles. Although that changed in 2015, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and others don’t believe the US should draft “America’s daughters” against their will.
Our military has welcomed women for decades and are stronger for it. But America’s daughters shouldn’t be drafted against their will. I opposed this amendment in committee, and I’ll work to remove it before the defense bill passes.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) July 23, 2021
Nearly a dozen Republican lawmakers in the Senate agree, and they’re working to remove that section from the bill. It appears to be a divided issue as well, where even Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) cast her vote against the 2022 NDAA.
Those on the other side of the issue, like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), think “it makes sense” to add women to the registry. She agrees with the legislator who introduced the amendment, Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA).
Although the US hasn’t instituted a draft since 1973, that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a possibility.
Should America leave the warfare to the men, or should the federal government require women to put their hats in the ring too?
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