On June 7, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court refused NCFM's earlier case, deferred to Congress, where six U.S. Senators opposed "draft[ing] our daughters", precluding women from registering. An archaic insult to our Constitution, men, and women.
LOS ANGELES, CA, May 31, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- NCFM is commemorating the 107th Anniversary of the Selective Service System; the law requiring male citizens to register for the military draft by the age of eighteen, by filing a Complaint in the Central District of California.
The Complaint requests that the court deem the mandatory registration of male citizens and immigrants a violation of Equal Protection under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as it is unlawful discrimination based on sex.
Along with NCFM, five other individual plaintiffs joined the lawsuit who are opposed to being sent to war based upon their gender."
All plaintiffs are fervent supporters of the equal treatment of all sexes.
NCFM filed a similar Complaint on April 6, 2013. On June 7, 2021, their Writ for Certiorari was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Sotomayor stated, ""But at least for now, the Court's longstanding deference to Congress on matters of national defense and military affairs cautions against granting review while Congress actively weighs the issue."
Congress did weigh in when it passed the defense bill. In July 2021, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 21-5 to add women to the draft registration system. The House Armed Services Committee approved the change in September in a 35-24 vote. The committee approval came after a congressionally mandated commission in 2020 recommended draft registration be expanded to include women, calling it a "necessary and fair step." Both the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee approved the historic change as they debated the annual defense spending package for 2022.
A small group of six Senators were adamantly opposed to making women register and threatened to vote against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) if the final bill included the provision to, in its words, "draft our daughters."
The comment about 'our daughters' does not acknowledge the fact that women serve in every capacity in all the armed forces, including combat roles.
Since 2013, there have been a slew of historic firsts, from the first female graduates of the Army Ranger School in 2015, to the first female Marine to lead an infantry platoon in 2018.
Every study and military recommendation have unequivocally concluded that a gender-neutral draft promotes fairness in the military and is in the best interest of our national security.
Those six Senators threatened to hold up approval of the defense bill and disrespected the fact that gender-neutral registration celebrates the achievements and capabilities of women who currently serve and readies our country to launch the best possible national defense by allowing the military access to the most qualified people to serve, regardless of their sex.
Every year since 2021 when the Supreme Court denied NCFM's Petition, Congress had the opportunity to act when they passed the annual defense bill, but they failed.
It is the position of NCFM that limiting registration to men is based upon antiquated stereotypes of the capacity of women to serve and fully take part in military and civic life; and equally archaic and compartmentalized views that men lack the ability to remain at home as caretakers.
The ban assumes women are unsuitable for military service despite their own individual abilities and predispositions. The limitation on registration to male citizens sanctifies these biases and encapsulates them in federal law.
Plaintiffs through this action look to end discrimination on the basis of sex as related to registration with the Selective Service System, an action that is long overdue.
While there has not been a conscription in almost 50 years, considering the current state of world affairs, the possibility looms closer than ever before.
Equalizing registration with the Selective Service System would ensure that all sexes have the same rights and responsibilities to serve their country if called upon to do so.
NCFM's Complaint seeks to eliminate registration on the basis of sex as a pool of draft-age people, regardless of their sex, will enhance military readiness, and contribute to our national security.
Click here to read the PDF complaint at the bottom of the page.
The National Coalition For Men (NCFM) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit corporation. Established in 1977 NCFM is the nation's oldest men's human rights organization. Our members are men and women from a wide variety of professions across the globe, including, educators, medical professionals, attorneys, and retired law enforcement officers. Since its start NCFM has been committed to ending harmful discrimination and stereotypes against boys, men, their families, and the women who love them. We are a gender inclusive, nonpartisan, ethnically diverse organization that effects civil rights reform through advocacy, education, outreach, services, and litigation. NCFM is also a news gathering and reporting organization as defined in KRS 189.635(8)(b)1a.toe.
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