Is making draft registration automatic the right move? Tell us. | Opinion
Now, instead of going to sign up, young men will be automatically registered for the draft. This has revived an argument about constitutionality pertaining to the 13th Amendment.
Joel BurgessI was a newly registered selective service enrollee when, in 1990, the United States carried out its largest overseas military deployment since World War II. I have to admit, the Persian Gulf War had me a little shaken, sitting with fellow college students asking questions no one knew the answers to. Like, how long will this last? And will they need to draft soldiers?
As it turned out, the war between Iraq and a U.S.-led coalition was over quickly.
Now we're in a whole new paradigm, with a commander in chief who relishes shows of force and has been flexing U.S. military muscle around the globe.
It's at this time, with our military active in South America, the Middle East and even inside our country in pursuit of a hardened immigration policy that Congress has passed and President Donald Trump has signed a law changing fundamentally how conscription works. No longer will signing up for the draft be done by the qualifying person. Instead, men ages 18-25 will now be automatically registered.
While conscription in our country is as old as the Civil War, this has led some to revive an argument that the draft is unconstitutional, saying it violates the 13th Amendment, which bans involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime.
Though the Supreme Court is conservative, it has overturned long-standing decisions, making it not unreasonable to think justices could strike down the practice of forcing Americans to fight.
Should we return to the draft? Who should be exempt from selective service?
The situation raises a host of questions, including our attitudes toward past, current and possible future armed conflicts and whether we think an all-professional military should be left to deal with them. Or should regular citizens – like our children and us – be required to participate? And for what reasons could someone be exempted? (As Trump was, five times.) Should it be only men? How old should conscripts be?
We want to hear what you think, our USA TODAY readers. To send us your answers about the automatic draft and other questions in the form below, leave us a voicemail at (202) 655-3923 or send us an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Forum draft.” We’ll publish a collection of the best ones in an upcoming Forum piece.
Joel Burgess is a Voices editor for USA TODAY Opinion.