The Senate just passed a military bill on June 14th, 2016 that would require any woman who turns eighteen on or after January 1st, 2018 to register for Selective Service, or most widely known as the military draft.
This is the first time in history that women would be required to register for the draft. Men already receive penalties for not registering, and women soon might face these penalties as well. Some of these penalties include no access to Pell grants and other federal benefits. Technically, men who fail to register can face a felony charge of five years in prison or a $250,000 fine. The last time the draft was utilized was in the 1970s during the Vietnam War.
This bill was shockingly passed through senate with a large margin of majority. Titled the National Defense Authorization Act, it passed 85-13. This comes shortly after the Pentagon began allowing women into the front lines of military roles in combat.
The current budget for the Selective Service committee (those are the guys who will choose who will be drafted if the United States needs to call people to service) is around $22.7 million.
Imagine this: daughters and sons being forced to the front lines in the time of war together. Isn’t this the greatest form of equality? Shouldn’t there be enough people willing to volunteer for the military, for both genders, to be able to handle a time of war without forcing people to enlist? It’s frightening to think sons and daughters could be forced to the front lines if the draft is put into place and face penalties if they don’t.
