Court Advances Challenge To Male-Only Military Draft

Courthouse News reports:

The National Coalition for Men can proceed with its class action lawsuit challenging the government’s men-only mandate for registering for the military draft, a federal judge ruled on Friday. Although the U.S. military is now an all-volunteer force, to stay prepared for a major war the Military Select Service Act requires men age 18 to 25 to register with the Select Service System. The government held its last draft, for the Vietnam War, in 1973.

The National Coalition for Men, represented by Marc Angelucci in Los Angeles, sued the Select Service System in April 2013, claiming the male-only draft registration rule is unconstitutional gender discrimination. The Pentagon in January 2013 lifted a ban on women serving in front-line combat positions. The coalition seeks an injunction ordering the government to make both men and women register for the draft.

The government’s defense relies on a 1981 Supreme Court 6-3 ruling that since women were barred from combat roles, a male-only draft registration was not discriminatory. But as noted above, that has changed.

RELATED: The National Coalition for Men claims to be nonpartisan, but of course they are not.

Most women’s rights and LGBT equality organizations are opposing the GOP’s version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which removes the protections for marginalized communities from the Senate’s version of the bill. But at least one group is coming to the GOP’s defense. The National Coalition for Men (NCFM) has released a statement arguing that the Republican alternative will “ensure more of the abused are better served” and provide protections for the “true victims” of domestic violence — heterosexual men.