Male-only draft unconstitutional

Judge Gray H. Miller of the Federal District Court in the Southern District in Houston has ruled that a military draft for men only is unconstitutional. The judge took note of the Supreme Court’s 1981 ruling that excluding women from the draft was “fully justified” because women were not allowed to serve in combat. But the Defense Department abolished that restriction in 2015, opening the way for women to serve in any military billet. No one has been conscripted into the military in more than 40 years, but the Military Selective Service Act requires all men to register at age 18, in case a draft is reinstated. They remain eligible through age 25. The Houston case was brought by the National Coalition for Men, a men’s rights group, which argued that drafting men exclusively violates the 14th Amendment’s equal-protection clause. Miller’s ruling was declaratory, and did not specify any governmental action to comply. This ruling comes at a time when the National Commission on Military, Nation, and Public Service advisory panel is studying the draft system - whether it should continue and whether women should be required to register. (Source: New York Times 02/25/19)