With Women in Combat Roles, a Federal Court Rules Male-Only Draft Unconstitutional

A federal judge in Texas has declared that an all-male military draft is unconstitutional, ruling that “the time has passed” for a debate on whether women belong in the military.

The decision deals the biggest legal blow to the Selective Service System since the Supreme Court upheld the draft registration process in 1981. In Rostker v. Goldberg, the court ruled that a male-only draft was “fully justified” because women were ineligible for combat roles.

But U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ruled late Friday that while historical restrictions on women serving in combat “may have justified past discrimination,” men and women are now equally able to fight. In 2015, the Pentagon lifted all restrictions for women in military service.

The case was brought by the National Coalition For Men, a men’s rights group, and two men who argued an all-male draft was unfair.

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The ruling comes as an 11-member commission is studying the future of the Selective Service System, including whether women should be included or whether there should continue to be draft registration at all. {snip}

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Quoting the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning bans on same-sex marriage, Miller ruled that restrictions based on gender “must substantially serve an important governmental interest today.”

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“Yes, to some extent this is symbolic, but it does have some real-world impact,” said Marc Angelucci, the lawyer for the men challenging the Selective Service System. “Either they need to get rid of the draft registration, or they need to require women to do the same thing that men do.”