SAN ANTONIO (CBS)— A federal judge in Houston has ruled that the military draft, which requires all men between the ages of 18 and 26 to register with the Selective Service, is unconstitutional because women are not required to register.
District Judge Gray Miller wrote in his order that excluding women from registering for the draft made no sense considering they are now allowed to serve in combat. The Pentagon lifted an order in 2015 which previously barred women from serving in combat roles.
“If there ever was a time to discuss “the place of women in the Armed Services,” that time has passed,” Miller wrote in his opinion.
The lawsuit was brought by the National Coalition for Men which claimed the current law discriminates against men.
“Women are now allowed in combat, so this decision is long overdue,” said Marc Angelucci, attorney for NCFM. “After decades of sex discrimination against men in the Selective Service, the courts have finally found it unconstitutional to force only men to register. Even without a draft, men still face prison, fines, and denial of federal loans for not registering or for not updating the government of their whereabouts. Since women will be required to register with the Selective Service, they should face the same repercussions as men for any noncompliance.”
The federal government was already reviewing whether women should be required to register, but that final report isn’t expected for another year, according to NBC News.