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I'm at home, watching Jarhead with M (well, part of it, he'd started watching it before I got home). At one point while I was washing dishes I said something along the lines of how it was a good thing they hadn't brought back the draft for Desert Storm, or M would've been one of the first kids called up. If they'd brought it back for Afghanistan or Iraq 2.0, I was in the prime age group (and there was talk of drafting women by then).
Which brings me to the problem I have with the Selective Service. The sexism displayed by requiring men, and only men, to register should be appalling to anyone who values equality. The way the law is currently drafted, only "male persons" are required to sign up. Even the Supreme Court decided in 1981 that only requiring men to register did not violate the Due Process clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Are they kidding me? Women fought damned hard for equal rights--and damned if it isn't awesome now that we get the vote and the right to be treated as equals both in the workplace and the home. So why aren't we held to the same standard and forced to register? There are two perfectly viable options here. One, to end the Selective Service. It hasn't been used recently anyways, and gods willing it will not need to be implemented again. The other? Require all American adults to register upon turning 18, not just males.
Which brings me to the problem I have with the Selective Service. The sexism displayed by requiring men, and only men, to register should be appalling to anyone who values equality. The way the law is currently drafted, only "male persons" are required to sign up. Even the Supreme Court decided in 1981 that only requiring men to register did not violate the Due Process clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Are they kidding me? Women fought damned hard for equal rights--and damned if it isn't awesome now that we get the vote and the right to be treated as equals both in the workplace and the home. So why aren't we held to the same standard and forced to register? There are two perfectly viable options here. One, to end the Selective Service. It hasn't been used recently anyways, and gods willing it will not need to be implemented again. The other? Require all American adults to register upon turning 18, not just males.
