(OurNationNews.com) A new measure has been approved at the committee level in the U.S. legislature that will automatically include women in a special conscription for the U.S. military.
On the week of June 17, a Senate committee approved a version of a Pentagon policy that would require women between ages 18 and 25 to register with the U.S.’ Selective Service. The Selective Service is a database of individuals who could be included in the draft if one is activated. In most states in the U.S., the registration – which is currently only for males – is automatic, with the names entered into the database when one applies for a drivers’ license or applies for college. Only states such as Alaska, California, Wyoming, Oregon, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Vermont, and Massachusetts have no automatic registration while other states have either an opt-in or opt-out policy.
The new policy that seeks to include women in the draft was included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which allows a bipartisan initiative to make the policy law.
While the measure enjoys some bipartisan support, a number of lawmakers also expressed opposition to the proposal, including some members of the committee in the Upper House that green lit the measure.
“When it comes to actually engaging combat, men are just more suited for that,” said Republican Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that approved the measure.
“I think it’s wrong to say to women, ‘We’re going to involuntarily put you in the military,’” added Republican Missouri Senator Josh Hawley.
For Republican South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds, the issue should be moot, since there is no active draft at the moment. “I don’t think it’s necessary to even get deeply into it [drafting women],” he said.
However, other members of the GOP in the Senate, such as Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa, said that the issue “warrants further discussion,” citing her experience serving in the military. “I think it’s important women should fill some of those roles in the military.”
The measure still has a long way to go, with the Senate set to debate the issue soon. A final measure, if it does pass both Houses to begin with, will need to be worked on as well before it lands on the president’s table to be signed into law or vetoed.
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