Gay Men Must Register for Draft

The "draft," which is actually a registration system, has no provision for inducting people into the military. The last system for inducting people into the military ended in 1973. It cannot begin again unless Congress passes legislation calling for restarting it. But existing law still requires men between 18 and 26 to register for the draft, and experts say as many as 1.5 million men are failing to do so.

Serkan Altan, who received U.S. political asylum after fleeing anti-Gay persecution in Turkey, said no one told him of his obligation to sign up for the draft. (by Clint Steib)

A Quaker group that counsels men about military issues believes some Gay men are incorrectly assuming they are exempt from having to register for the draft because current military policy bans openly Gay recruits from serving in the all-volunteer military services. This incorrect assumption can lead to serious consequences, said Sandy Sweitzer, director of the Quaker Meeting House of Fayetteville, N.C.

Under existing federal statutes, those who do not register for the draft by their 26th birthday risk becoming ineligible for college or vocational financial aid from the federal government for the rest of their lives. Similarly, male immigrants who are otherwise eligible for U.S. citizenship could become permanently ineligible for citizenship if they don't register for the draft by the time they turn 26.

At the request of President Richard Nixon, Congress abolished the draft in 1973 and created an all-volunteer military. The all-volunteer system remains in place today. However, in 1980, at the request of President Jimmy Carter in response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, Congress adopted a draft registration. The system requires nearly all male citizens of the United States to register for the Selective Service within a week after their 18th birthday. Male immigrants who are not citizens and who arrive in the U.S. between ages 18 and 26 are also required to register with the Selective Service.

Men who enlist in the military and who are on active duty are exempt from registering during the time of their service but are required to register if they leave active duty status prior to their 26th birthday.

Lewis Brodsky, a spokesperson for the Selective Service System, said the current system has no provision for calling up registrants to serve in the military or for deciding who is or isn't suitable for serving. "It will take an act of Congress to do that," he said.

The issue of Gay men and the Selective Service registration system surfaced last month when an anonymous posting on the Internet, written by someone claiming to be a college financial aid officer, stated that a significant number of young Gay men are failing to register for the draft. According to the Internet posting, some Gay men have assumed, incorrectly, that because the military currently bans openly Gay recruits, Gay men between the ages of 18 and 26 need not register for the draft.

The Internet message urged the Gay press and Gay community groups to alert Gay men to the fact that they could lose all future financial assistance for college tuition and other educational programs if they don't register for the draft.

The current policy concerning Gays in the military, known as the "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy, allows Gays to serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation a secret. Although the policy also bars military commanders from asking service members if they're Gay, Gay civil rights groups have said many commanders appear to be violating the policy by improperly investigating service members suspected of being Gay.

Brodsky said studies that compare U.S. Census records with the number of men who registered for the draft show that 88.7 percent of eligible men have registered, leaving 11.3 percent, or about 1.5 million men, who have not. Brodsky said the Selective Service has no information about the sexual orientation of the men who have not registered. "We don't do any surveys of [a citizen] who doesn't register," he said.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a Washington, D.C., group that assists members of the military under investigation for homosexuality, said it has no information either.

Brodsky noted that in 1982 and 1985 Congress put into place separate financial aid restrictions against those who fail to register for the draft. The restrictions are aimed at federal financial aid programs covering tuition and other expenses for students attending colleges and vocational schools. The congressional sanctions bar male students from receiving financial aid under these programs if they have not registered for the draft. Under the sanctions, those who don't register for the draft by their 26th birthday, the latest age at which anyone can register under the statute, they are permanently barred from receiving such financial aid. The law provides for a waiver for those seeking financial aid if they can show "with a preponderance of evidence" that their failure to register was not "willful or knowing."

Immigrants who fail to register by their 26th birthday are given a similar opportunity to show that their failure to register was not "willful."

Serkan Altan, a Gay man from Turkey who received U.S. political asylum four years ago, told the Blade that neither the Immigration and Naturalization Service nor his attorney told him about the draft registration requirement. Altan, who turns 26 in May, said he had not registered for the draft as of the time the Blade contacted him last week. He said he strongly desires to become a U.S. citizen and would have been "shocked" if he lost his right of citizenship due to failure to register.

"I will do it this week," he said. "I'm so surprised. Nobody ever told me about this."

Brodsky said the Selective Service distributes literature about the registration requirement to high schools and colleges and has placed public service announcements on television and radio. The financial aid officer who posted the Internet message said that news of the registration requirement apparently has not reached all of those affected by the requirement.

Sweitzer of the Quaker Meeting House said some of the men who come to her group's counseling sessions express a desire not to sign up for the draft because they oppose all wars. She said others say they oppose the U.S. military.

"I have never had any Gay men tell me they don't want to register because they're Gay," she said.

"I tell most people I talk to that the likelihood of a draft is so slim and the punishment for not registering is high," Sweitzer said. "I recommend that they register," she said, adding that those who oppose military service will have sufficient time to refuse service if and when Congress re-establishes a draft.

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