Not only is it time, it has been time for quite a while.

In a statement Dec. 3, 2015, Defense Secretary Ash Carter stated the Department of Defense will end all gender-based limitations for military service starting January 2016.

Prior to this date, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, on Jan. 24, 2013, announced the exclusion of women fighting in direct combat will end.

As of the publishing of this editorial, there has been no requirement for women ages 18 to 25 to register with the Selective Service, as is the case for men. “Selective Service continues to register only men, ages 18 through 25,” according to sss.gov, the Selective Service System’s official site of the United States government.

Gen. Mark A. Milley, chief of staff of the Army, stated to Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, during a Feb. 2 Senate committee hearing, “I think that all eligible and qualified men and women should register for the draft.”

Women currently are not required to register for the draft because of a 1981 Rostker v. Goldberg Supreme Court case decision that registering only men for Selective Service did not violate the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, sss.gov informs.

The Supreme Court had reversed a 1980 U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case, positioning the Military Selective Service Act of male-only registration violated the due process clause.

Congress would have to amend the law to require eligible women ages 18 to 25 to register for the draft.

With the recent change in direct combat fighting open to women, this law may change and has become a discussion among politicians as of late.

At a rally in South Carolina Feb. 19, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz stated, “And the idea that we would draft our daughters to forcibly bring them into the military and put them in close combat…I think is wrong. It is immoral, and if I am president, we [aren’t] doing it.”

Excuse me? Please tell me, Sen. Cruz, what is so wrong and immoral about me simply being treated as an equal to my male counterpart? Is it wrong and immoral because you need to protect me and keep me out of harm’s way because I am a woman? Is it because you think I am weak? Is it because my primary focus in life should be raising children?

I find it depressing that in 2016, individuals make statements like this.

As a feminist, this is what I fight against. If women want to be treated as equals to men – in politics, the workplace, even social interactions – that ideology includes establishing the requirement for women to register for the draft. We are all American citizens of this country, regardless of sex, who should be equally called upon to serve.

Women have been serving in the Army since 1775, according to army.mil/women. Today, women continue to serve, extending their duties to a multitude of positions, including combat roles, the site also states.

Brooke Stedman, of Women in International Security, a nongovernment organization that strives to develop professional leadership of women in the area of international peace and security, told CNN in an interview published Feb. 19, “If we wish to uphold and promote gender equality, then women should also be required to enroll in the Selective Service.”

In the interview, she continues by saying arguments made from individuals who wish to not see their female family members drafted are “offensive” and “ignorant.”

“Are we not equally scared to see our sons and brothers drafted?” Stedman questions.

Stedman, I agree with you. I would be scared to see my husband drafted just as equally as he would be to see me drafted.

We must remember that when registering for the draft, it does not mean the individual is guaranteed to be called upon to serve. And if called upon to serve, it also does not necessarily mean a position of direct combat.

I hope Congress enacts the requirement of eligible women ages 18 to 25 to register for the Selective Service, pushing forward the egalitarian principle of the sexes.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Catasauqua Press

Northampton Press

Whitehall-Coplay Press