This bill was supposed to keep women from being drafted. It backfired.
Following the Pentagon's decision to open all combat positions to women, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) introduced a measure to require age-eligible women to register with Selective Service in the event of a draft. His goal was to show how allowing women in combat could lead to mandating women in combat, a result Hunter opposed, particularly if achieved without congressional input.
The amendment was designed as a negative object lesson — but then it passed. On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee adopted Hunter's proposal under a 32-30 vote, with Hunter himself voting against his bill.
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Polling indicates Americans are about evenly split on the question of drafting women, with older generations voicing more objections. However, fewer than three in 10 Americans believe there should be a draft at all, suggesting that making men ineligible to be drafted would be a more popular change than making women eligible.
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