T HE G REEN W AVE G AZETTE
P AGE 12
Should We Draft America's Daughters?
Proposed bill would require women to register
Giovan Soares ‘19
Copy Editor
Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, a United States
Army soldier, waits to be awarded the Silver
Star medal during a military awards ceremo-
ny at Camp Liberty, Iraq, on June 16, 2005.
U.S. Army photograph by Jeremy D. Crisp.
(Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
“Support for DAD
does not seem to
be divided strictly
per party lines or
liberal or
conservative
viewpoints.”
Giovan Soares ‘19
The draft has been a controversial
issue throughout American history.
Presently, men between the ages of
18 and 26 must register so that, if
and when, Congress and the presi-
dent deem it necessary, they may be
drafted into mandatory military
service. A fairly recent bill was
introduced in 2016 that would
amend the Military Selective Service
Act to include young women as
well.
We have had an all-volunteer armed
service force since 1973, but the U.S
has relied on the draft many times
throughout its history, including the
Revolutionary War, Civil War, both
World Wars, the Korean War, and
the Vietnam War. It’s been useful,
but it has had its share of opponents.
In 1918, in the case of Arver v.
United States, the Supreme Court
had to uphold the right of the gov-
ernment to force
“conscription” (which is the old-
fashioned and more official name for
the draft) when it was challenged.
In the Vietnam era of the 1960s and
1970s, when many disagreed with
the war, there was a lot of turmoil
and unrest regarding the draft. A lot
of people protested, some burned
their draft cards and others fled to
Canada or found other ways to avoid
joining the military.
Now, we face a different type of
question, should America’s women
Green Wave Gazette Poll
Do you think our government should
have the right to draft women for mil-
itary service? Take our on-line poll,
look for this article at
www.greenwavegazette.org
have to sign up too? In 2016 Duncan
D. Hunter (R) California introduced
H.R. 4478, also known as the Draft
Americas Daughters (DAD) bill or
DADA for Draft America’s Daugh-
ter’s Act. It calls for the women to
register for the draft just like young
men do. Ryan K. Zinke (R) Mon-
tana co-sponsored the bill.
In March of 2016, the DAD bill was
referred to the sub-committee on
Military Personnel. Supporters think
that it helps advance the basic princi-
ples of gender equality and reflects
the advancement of women’s role
and capabilities in today’s U.S. mili-
tary. Currently, all men in the U.S.
must register for the draft within 30
days of their 18 th birthday. Forcing
women to do the same thing does
not have universal support, and has
caused debate.
Former President Obama supported
the bill, calling it a move towards
gender equality. And, former Secre-
tary of State and Democratic presi-
dential candidate Hillary Clinton
told the Huffington Post that she
supported it. President Trump has
been less clear on his stance, howev-
er he did tell the Washington Post
that he wanted to move away from
politically correct motivations.
Interestingly, support for DAD does
not seem to be divided strictly per
party lines or liberal or conservative
viewpoints. A liberal who is “pro-
equality” might support the act,
while another might not. Or, a
Republican might support the act
while another might disagree. The
same is true for Democrats.
To examine the issue on a more
local level, we polled 100 students
and 30 faculty members at Abington
High. In a face to face setting, our
reporter asked, “Do you think our
government should have the right to
draft women for military service?”
The results are shown in the table
below.
Given these results, AHS is mostly
in favor of the DAD bill. This is not
necessarily surprising or unsurpris-
ing because it is hard to have a pre-
conceived notion about this issue.
But, in some ways, it does make
sense because of the strong demo-
cratic support of the bill, Massachu-
setts’ reputation as a democratic
stronghold, and lackluster republi-
can support or even opposition.
When asked why they responded the
way they did, many mentioned
gender equality as justification, but
some females claimed they personal-
ly did not wish to be drafted, and as
such would not support this con-
gressional action.
At this point, the act continues to be
debated, and only time will tell if it
becomes a reality. Most recent news
reports seem to indicate that law-
makers are no longer hot on this
issue, and will likely order further
study before it is debated further
according to Military.com.