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A New Legal Development Allows Draft Registration to Continue
From Draft NOtices, October-December 2020
A New Legal Development Allows Draft Registration to Continue
-- Rick Jahnkow
In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that male-only draft registration did not constitute gender discrimination because, at that time, women were excluded from military combat roles. In February 2020, a federal district court judge in Texas ruled that because women were no longer excluded from combat, the system of draft registration that only had consequences for males had become a form of unconstitutional gender discrimination. That judge’s ruling was subsequently appealed by the government to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Read more: A New Legal Development Allows Draft Registration to Continue
Sexual assault in the U.S. military is usually associated with female soldiers such as the late Private First Class Vanessa Guillen who, according to reports, was sexually harassed and killed by a fellow soldier while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. However, male soldiers are also victims of sexual assault. A 2016 survey found that approximately 0.6 percent of active-duty men had experienced sexual assault in the previous year. Although some may dismiss the numbers as being insignificant, compared to sexual assaults of female soldiers, the numbers constitute part of what Congresswoman Veronica Escobar refers to as an “epidemic of unchecked sexual harassment and sexual assault” in the armed forces. The case of Armando Perez, Jr., offers insights into the institutional betrayal of male soldiers and the harm inflicted on those subjected to sexual assault.
On July 1, a proposal was made, and then withdrawn without a vote, to add the entire “Inspire to Serve Act” to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that is being formulated in the U.S. House of Representatives. It was proposed by Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) during the House Armed Services Committee’s consideration of amendments to the 2021 NDAA.
