On Feb. 22, Miller ruled it unconstitutional to have a male-only registration system.
It was only a matter of time before there was lawsuit regarding the Selective Service System and its gender related stipulations ,and Federal District Court Judge Gray Miller of the Southern District of Texas took on this very task.
The ruling stemmed from the equal protection principles of the Constitution. For decades, women have been fighting for equal rights. In regards to the military, all combat positions have only been open to women since 2015. This only confirmed Miller’s thoughts regarding the male-only registration law in the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA).
Conversation has been circulating the public since 2015 about whether women will have to register for the draft. However, it became more relevant to Miller when the National Coalition for Men sued the SSS. The lawsuit was on the basis that the MSSA is violating the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Miller sided with them.
This change has now caused a cascade of unresolved questions. The public wants to know what the next step is and where the Selective Service System (SSS) is heading. The answers lie within the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service and Congress.
The National Commission is a nonpartisan Commission including 11 members, with Joe Heck, retired American politician and U.S. Army Brigadier General, as their current chairman. Congress has entrusted the commission with the responsibility of encouraging young people to participate in the military and public services.They are tasked with the constant review of the military selective service process.
Chairman Joe Heck made a statement apropos of the new ruling on Feb. 25. Not only did he discuss the topics this commission was going to focus on, but he also discussed when they plan of announcing their suggestions to Congress. “The Commission is studying a wide range of possible changes, including not only whether women should register, but whether the nation even needs a registration system,” Heck said.
A federal judge and an organization protecting males against discrimination feel that this law is unconstitutional, and senior Carter Duwa agrees. “With the large amount of groups and institutions pushing for equal rights among genders, I believe women should share in the responsibility of registering for the draft,” Duwa said.
Although Miller never called for Congress to change anything, his ruling introduced a wave of questions and concerns. Duwa believes that equality in something as important as the draft is a necessary step forward. “If we ever want total equality across the genders, responsibility must be shared and a Selective Service requirement is just a start,” Duwa said.
