‘Hands Off of Our Daughters’: Appeals Court Upholds Male-Only Draft

A federal appeals court on Thursday declared the male-only draft constitutional, overturning a lower court ruling from 2019 that had sparked an outcry from social conservatives and Christian leaders.

At issue is the requirement by the Selective Service System that men, upon reaching age 18, register with the agency within 30 days. Selective Service keeps a list of all men ages 18-25 eligible for the draft.

The lawsuit was brought by the National Coalition For Men, which argued that permitting women to avoid Selective Service violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Last year, U.S. District Judge Gray Miller sided with the organization, but on Thursday, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Miller and said they were bound by Supreme Court precedent. The high court upheld a male-only draft as constitutional in a 1981 case, Rostker v. Goldberg.

“Only the Supreme Court may revise its precedent,” the Fifth Circuit ruled.

The 3-0 unanimous decision was issued by Judges Jacques Loeb Wiener Jr. (nominated by George W. Bush), Carl E. Stewart (President Clinton) and Don Willett (President Trump). Miller, who was nominated by George W. Bush, argued that since “women are now eligible for and have been integrated into combat units,” they also can be drafted. When the Supreme Court ruled in 1981, women were not eligible for combat.

In 2016, when the issue was…