The Selective Serve and Sex Discrimination

By Amy E. Feldman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Is making men but not women register for the draft a violation of sex discrimination laws?

In a famous scene from the movie Stripes, Seargent Hulka asks the men why they joined the army.

One recruit says: I joined the army 'cause my father and my brother were in the army. I figured I better join before I got drafted.

Sergeant Hulka replied: Son, there ain't no draft no more. To which the recruit said: There was one? Yeah, there was one. But there isn't anymore.

Despite this, it is the law that virtually all men between the ages of 18 and 24 living in the United States must register with the selective service.

Yet there's no requirement that women register. Now a 17 year old girl in New Jersey has filed a lawsuit claiming that the inability of women to register with the selective service is sex discrimination given that there are more than 200,000 women in active duty military, and that women have active combat roles.

Now there's a question about whether a woman has the right to bring this suit since there's an argument that women aren't harmed by it—being drafted is usually considered a benefit, particularly where women are allowed to join if they choose to earn their stripes.