Women May Be Required to Register for Military Draft

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Women May Be Required to Register for Military Draft

May 6th, 2016

Awake Goy

Congress may pass legislation that will require women to register for the military draft.

In April, the House Armed Services Committee approved a measure that would require women to register for the military draft. It is attached to a defense policy bill that the full House will consider in May. The action comes shortly after the Defense Department removed all gender restrictions on front-line combat units.

Rep. Duncan Hunter said he offered the amendment to provoke discussion about how the Pentagon’s decision to remove gender restrictions on military service failed to consider whether women should also be drafted. He is opposed to women in combat and in the draft. “The draft is there to get more people to rip the enemy’s throats out,” he added.

Rep. Chris Gibson said if women were drafted, they wouldn’t be placed into jobs that they aren’t equipped to do. “What we have right now is standards-based,” he said.

The measure passed the committee 32-30 with strong female support from committee members. Rep. Martha McSally said plenty of jobs in the military may need filling if a draft is put into action. “There could be medical positions; we could need cyber warriors,” she said. “The intent of the draft is not to fill 100 per cent of the positions with front-line infantry,” she concluded. Rep. Jackie Spear said, “I actually think if we want equality in this country, if we want to be treated precisely like men are treated and [think that women] should not be discriminated against, we should be willing to support universal conscription.”

Failure to register with the Selective Service could result in loss of eligibility for student financial aid, job training and employment with the government. Immigrants cold lose eligibility for U.S. citizenship. The latest report shows for the 2015 fiscal year, 73% of 18-year olds registered on time. The registration rate for all men aged 20-25 was 94 %.