Supreme Court Refuses To Weigh In On Male-Only Military Draft Registrations Challenge

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge for the male-only registration requirement for the military draft.

The male-only registration marks the last sex-based distinction under federal that challengers have described as “unlawful” since women are allowed to serve in the military and combat.

The National Coalition for Men filed the constitutional challenge to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider the 1981 ruling that upheld Military Selective Service Act, which made women ineligible for combat and required only men to register for the draft.

The organization’s goal was to have the court acknowledge that the military draft was unconstitutional and allow Congress to find a solution for the matter.

In statements about the decision to decline the hearing, justices Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer noted that Congress is in process of looking into the matter.

“At least for now, the court’s long-standing deference to Congress on matters of national defense and military affairs cautions against granting review while Congress actively weighs the issue,” the justices wrote.

Since Congress is currently considering the inclusion of women for the draft registration, Elizabeth Prelogar, the acting solicitor general, revealed there may not be a need for the Supreme Court justices to weigh in on the matter at all.

“Congress’ attention to the question may soon eliminate any need for the Court to grapple with that constitutional question,” Prelogar said in a statement.

The decision to not hear the challenge comes more than a year after a report that resulted in the Biden administration advising the justices to refrain from interfering with the matter. At the time, the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service released a report recommending the elimination of the male-only draft and making all individuals “of the applicable age” eligible for the draft.