From Draft NOtices, April-June 2021
Draft Registration Developments
— Rick Jahnkow
As of the writing of this update, we are waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of male-only draft registration.
Earlier in the case, there were conflicting decisions by a federal district court judge and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The district court judge said that because women were now eligible for combat jobs in the military, a 1981 Supreme Court decision upholding male-only registration was no longer valid. The appeals court, on the other hand, overruled the district court and said that only the Supreme Court itself could reverse its earlier decision. The plaintiff in the lawsuit, the National Coalition for Men, then took the next step and petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case. The ACLU is handling the appeal.
A response to the appeal is now pending from the U.S. government and is due April 14. Afterward, the Supreme Court will decide whether or not to take up the case.
In the meantime, there have been some moves in Congress toward legislation that would require women to begin registering for the draft. Language to that effect is expected to either be included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act or introduced as a separate bill.
As noted in an earlier issue of Draft NOtices, last spring the family of Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen organized rallies outside Fort Hood Army Base and initiated a social media campaign (#FindVanesssa) to pressure officials at Fort Hood to investigate her disappearance. The soldier had informed the family that she was experiencing sexual harassment but had not reported it due to a fear of retaliation. The family’s actions spurred an internal investigation that revealed she had been murdered by a fellow soldier and an accomplice. After the discovery of her murder, the family continued to struggle for accountability and justice. The effort generated extensive attention and support and catalyzed, among other things, the introduction of legislation by members of Congress. Leading the charge was Congresswoman Jackie Spier, who on September 16 joined other members of Congress to introduce the “I am Jessica Guillen Act of 2020.”
