PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Marc Angelucci, Esq., NCFM Vice President, marcangelucci@hotmail.com 626-319-3081

Or, Steven Svoboda, Esq., NCFM PR Director, arc@post.harvard.edu 925-395-2065

NATIONAL COALITION FOR MEN SUES SELECTIVE SERVICE FOR REQUIRING ONLY MEN TO REGISTER FOR THE DRAFT



Lawsuit Asserts Department of Defense’s Recent Repeal of Ban on Women in Combat Removes Lone Legal Obstacle for Requiring Women to Register for Draft

Los Angeles (4/4/13) – The National Coalition For Men (NCFM) is a non-profit educational organization that advocates for equal rights for men and women.

NCFM has filed a lawsuit that challenges the legality of requiring only males to register for the military draft. The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Selective Service System in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on April 4, 2013, Case Number 2:13-cv-02391-DSF-MAN .

The 1981 U.S. Supreme Court equal protection case of Rostker v. Goldberg, 453 U.S. 57 (1981) held that men and women were not similarly situated in the U.S. military because women were excluded from combat, therefore women did not have to register for the draft. Dissenting Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote, “The Court today places its imprimatur on one of the most potent remaining public expressions of ‘ancient canards about the proper role of women’.”

In January, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced that women will be allowed to enter all combat positions in all branches of the U.S. military, thereby removing the sole legal basis for requiring only males to register for the draft.

NCFM’s complaint alleges that because men and women are now similarly situated in the military, Selective Service’s requirement that only males must register for the draft violates the rights of both men and women to equal treatment under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, and under United States Code, Title 28, Section 1983.

Plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief, calling for the Selective Service to stop discriminating against men and women by requiring both men and women to register for the draft, or by requiring neither to register for the draft.

Men failing to register for the draft can be fined up to $250,000, sentenced to up to five years in prison, and denied eligibility for federal and state benefits including jobs, financial aid, citizenship, loans, and job training. Only men now face these harsh penalties.

NCFM calls on the Obama Administration and Congress to end the institutional sex discrimination that requires only men to register for the draft. The ancient canard is gone, because women are now eligible for combat roles in all branches of the U.S. military. There is no longer any legal justification for continuing the unequal treatment of our draft age population based solely on their gender. The Selective Service System should treat men and women equally, including imposing penalties against both men and women for failing to register.

Read the complaint at :

4/9/2013: BING News, “National Coalition For Men” And “Selective Service”

4/9/2013: Men’s Rights Blog, NCFM SUES SELECTIVE SERVICE FOR REQUIRING ONLY MEN TO REGISTER FOR THE DRAFT

4/9/2013: Yahoo Answers, Feminists: Do you believe that this is a step towards gender equality

4/9/2013: Yahoo News, National Coalition For Men Sues Selective Service for Requiring Only Men to Register for the Draft

4/5/2013: REDEDIT, MENSRIGHTS, NCFM sues selective service for requiring only men to register for the draft

4/5/2013: Metropolitan News Enterprise, Los Angeles, Group Sues Over Lack of Draft Registration for Women

4/5/2013: A Voice For Men, NCFM calls for equality in selective service

4/5/2013: REyeko MRA, NATIONAL COALITION FOR MEN SUES SELECTIVE SERVICE…

4/5/2013: EWCRLDWIRE, Gender Equality in Selective Service Called for by National Coalition For Men

4/5/1013: PRFree, Gender Equality in Selective Service Called for by National Coalition For Men

4/4/2013: The Counter Feminst, NCFM Sues the Selective Service Regarding the Male-Only Draft.

4/4/2013: MensENews, NATIONAL COALITION FOR MEN SUES SELECTIVE SERVICE REQUIRING ONLY MEN TO REGISTER FOR THE DRAFT

National Coalition For Men (NCFM), 932 C Street, Suite B, San Diego, CA 92101

Both men and women should register for Selective Service.

The Selective Service System should be gender inclusive.