US District Court Judge Gray Miller, in a historic ruling, has stated that the male-only US draft, the Selective Service, is unconstitutional.
In his ruling, Milled, who is based in Houston, stated that previous arguments about combat readiness “smack[ed] of archaic and overbroad generalizations about women’s preferences.”
This marks a rejection of a 1981 Supreme Court decision on the subject.
In his ruling, Miller stated that the law on the books is outdated and doesn’t reflect the modern world. “…[H]istorical restrictions on women in the military may have justified past discrimination,” Miller stated.
However, he found that the current reality didn’t mesh with that perception. “If there ever was a time to discuss the place of women in the Armed Services, that time has passed,” wrote Miller.
Miller held that the Selective Service wasn’t making a compelling case that being male-only was “substantially related to Congress’s objective of raising and supporting armies.”
It’s hard to argue with Miller’s logic: since 2015, there has been no battlefield distinction between men and women in active combat zones.
In the 1970s, the traditional draft was done away with. In those days, young men could be drafted to serve in the military, even if they didn’t volunteer to fight.
However, to this day, men aged 18-25 in the US have to register basic information with the Selective Service. In the event that the draft is ever resumed the Selective Service will be activated.
The ruling doesn’t block the current application of the law related to the Selective Service. Currently, the male-only restriction is being investigated by the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service.
The Selective Service System had urged Miller to drop the case in light of this fact. However, it’s unclear whether the current investigation will reverse the male-only requirement.
With women currently able to serve in the same combat roles as men in the US Armed Forces, it’s unclear how the country would handle a modern draft.
However, it seems unlikely that the male-only restriction on the draft lasts much longer.
