Editing Selective Service System (section)

==History==
[[File:Seal of the Selective Service System (2006).svg|thumb|The former seal of the Selective Service System]]

===1917 to 1920===
[[File:King, Stoddard WW1 draft card.jpg|thumb|World War I draft card. Lower left corner to be removed by men of African ancestry in order to keep the [[Racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces|military segregated]]]]
Following the U.S. [[United States declaration of war on Germany (1917)|declaration of war]] against Germany on 6 April, the [[Selective Service Act of 1917]] (40 Stat. 76) was passed by the [[65th United States Congress]] on 18 May 1917, creating the Selective Service System.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/163.html |title = Records of the Selective Service System (World War I) |publisher = Archives.gov |access-date = 8 April 2011 }}</ref> President [[Woodrow Wilson]] signed the act into law after the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] failed to meet its target of expanding to 1 million men after six weeks.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.upi.com/How-the-draft-has-evolved-in-the-100-years-since-Selective-Service-Act/4031494780649/ |title = How the draft has evolved in the 100 years since Selective Service Act |publisher = United Press International |access-date = 21 May 2018 }}</ref> The act gave the president the power to conscript men for military service. All men aged 21 to 30 were required to enlist for military service for a service period of 12 months. As of mid-November 1917, all registrants were placed in one of five new classifications. Men in Class I were the first to be drafted, and men in lower classifications were deferred. Dependency deferments for registrants who were fathers or husbands were especially widespread.<ref>{{cite journal |last = Geva |first = Dorit |title = Different and Unequal? Breadwinning, Dependency Deferments, and the Gendered Origins of the U.S. Selective Service System |journal = Armed Forces & Society |date = October 2011 |volume = 37 |issue = 4 |pages = 598–618 |doi = 10.1177/0095327X09358654 |s2cid = 145781367 }}</ref> The age limit was later raised in August 1918 to a maximum age of 45. The military draft was discontinued in 1920.

===1940 to 1947===
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; clear: right;"
|-
! Conflict !! Dates active !! Number of<br />wartime draftees<ref name="sss.gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.sss.gov/About/History-And-Records/Induction-Statistics |title=Induction Statistics |website=www.sss.gov |access-date=4 July 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[World War I]] || September 1917 – November 1918 || align=right | 2,810,296
|-
| [[World War II]] || November 1940 – October 1946 || align=right | 10,110,104
|-
| [[Korean War]] || June 1950 – June 1953 || align=right | 1,529,539
|-
| [[Vietnam War]] || August 1964 – February 1973 || align=right | 1,857,304
|}
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em"
|-
!Year
!'''Total draftees'''<ref name="sss.gov" />
|-
! 1917
| 516,212
|-
! 1918
| 2,294,084
|-
! 1940
| 18,633
|-
! 1941
| 923,842
|-
! 1942
| 3,033,361
|-
! 1943
| 3,323,970
|-
! 1944
| 1,591,942
|-
! 1945
| 945,862
|-
! 1946
| 183,383
|-
! 1947
| 0
|-
! 1948
| 20,348
|-
! 1949
| 9,781
|-
! 1950
| 219,771
|-
! 1951
| 551,806
|-
! 1952
| 438,479
|-
! 1953
| 473,806
|-
! 1954
| 253,230
|-
! 1955
| 152,777
|-
! 1956
| 137,940
|-
! 1957
| 138,504
|-
! 1958
| 142,246
|-
! 1959
| 96,143
|-
! 1960
| 86,602
|-
! 1961
| 118,586
|-
! 1962
| 82,060
|-
! 1963
| 119,265
|-
! 1964
| 112,386
|-
! 1965
| 230,991
|-
! 1966
| 382,010
|-
! 1967
| 228,263
|-
! 1968
| 296,406
|-
! 1969
| 283,586
|-
! 1970
| 162,746
|-
! 1971
| 94,092
|-
! 1972
| 49,514
|-
! 1973
| 646
|}
The [[Selective Training and Service Act of 1940]] was passed by [[76th United States Congress|Congress]] on 16 September 1940, establishing the first peacetime [[conscription]] in United States history.<ref name="draft">{{cite magazine |last = Holbrook |first = Heber A. |url = http://www.pacshiprev.com/PacificArchivesSubDirectory/page31.html |title = The Crisis Years: 1940 and 1941 |access-date = 2 September 2014 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050313020005/http://www.pacshiprev.com/PacificArchivesSubDirectory/page31.html |archive-date = 13 March 2005 |magazine = The Pacific Ship and Shore Historical Review |date = 4 July 2001 |page = 2}}</ref> It required all men between the ages of 18 and 64 to register with the Selective Service. To register, men typically completed a D.S.S. Form 1 Military Draft Registration Card from the Director of Selective Service. Over 49 million draft cards were completed, including [[The Old Man's Draft]].

It originally conscripted all men aged 21 to 35 for a service period of 12 months. In 1941, the military service period was extended to 18 months; later that year the age bracket was increased to include men aged 18 to 37. In 1940, the act had registered 16 million men between the ages of 21-36.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=632}} Following the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese]] [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941, and the subsequent declarations of war by the United States against the [[Empire of Japan]] and a few days later against [[Nazi Germany]], the service period was subsequently extended in early 1942 to last for the duration of the war, plus a six-month service in the Organized Reserves. Until late 1942, both the U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps relied only on volunteers and all those drafted prior to late 1942 went only to the Army or the Army Air Corps.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=635}} Of those called up for service during the war, nearly 2 million Americans were rejected by the draft boards for "neuropsychiatic reasons".{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=710}} The most common "neuropsychiatic reason" was homosexuality, which was a considered to be a very serious mental illness in the 1940s and as such the military refused to accept homosexuals.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=710}} Another four million American men called for national service were rejected for either medical or educational reasons, such as being near-sighted, having rotten teeth or being illiterate.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=710}} As too many men were being rejected for health or educational reasons, the U.S. Army was forced to take remedial work.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=710}} During the course of the war, 25,000 Army dentists pulled 15 million rotten teeth and placed 2.5 million sets of dentures while Army optometrists fitted 2.25 million men with eyeglasses.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=710}} Nearly a million men took educational courses to teach them how to read and write.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=710}}  In November 1942, Congress passed the Tydings Amendment which exempted all agricultural workers from the draft, thereby exempting 2 million American men from serving in the war.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=634}}

The question of drafting Black men caused much controversy as President  [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] had promised several African-American civil rights leaders in 1940 that the draft would be a color-blind one and in fact the Selective Service Act of 1940 stated "there shall be no discrimination against any person on the account of race or color".{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=634}} However, the U.S. military practiced segregation during the war as Black Americans did not serve alongside men of other races and in practice Black men were only drafted to keep the all Black units of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Army Air Force up to strength.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=634}}  Furthermore, the military as a general rule preferred to use Black servicemen only in menial roles and as much as possible tried to avoid sending African-Americans into combat out of a belief that Black men were not brave enough.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=634}} As such, the U.S. Army in particular did not form many divisions out of the Black men drafted, which limited the number of African-Americans subject to the draft.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=634}} As a result of these practices, in early 1943 African-Americans made up 10.6% of the American population, but only 6% of the men serving in the military.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=634}}  

The issue of conscientious objectors was a controversial one during the war.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=633}} In World War One, only the so-called "peace churches", namely the Mennonites, the Quakers and the Brethren had been allowed to reject national service on grounds of conscience.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=633}}  The 1940 Selective Service Act allowed the same exemption to the "peace churches", but also allowed anyone "who, by reason of religious training or belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form".{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=633}} In practice, draft boards would exempt anyone who prove they were opposed to war on grounds of some sort of religious belief, which allowed more to claim conscientious objector's status than had been the case in World War One.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=633}} About 75,000 Americans called for national service claimed conscientious objector status, and about half of these claims were accepted by the draft boards.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=633}} Married men were exempt from the draft and in late 1940 about 40% called up for the draft were able to evade it by promptly getting married.{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=634}} In February 1942, General Hershey, who was in charge of the draft, complained "that most of the recent marriages...might have been for the purpose of evading the draft".{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|p=634-635}}    

In his 1945 [[1945 State of the Union Address|State of the Union address]], President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] requested that the draft be expanded to include female nurses (male nurses were not allowed), to overcome a shortage that was endangering military medical care. This began a debate over the drafting of all women, which was defeated in the House of Representatives. A bill to draft nurses was passed by the House, but died without a vote in the Senate. The publicity caused more nurses to volunteer and agencies streamlined recruiting.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.historynet.com/drafting-women.htm |title = Drafting Women? |date = 6 August 2016 |author = Joseph Connor |publisher = World War II Magazine}}</ref>

The Selective Service System created by the 1940 act was terminated by the act of 31 March 1947.<ref>{{USStatute|80|26|61|31|1947|03|31}}</ref><ref name=US_v_Groupp/>

===1948 to 1969===
{{see also|Berry Plan}}
The [[Military Selective Service Act|Selective Service Act of 1948]], enacted in June of that year, created a new and separate system, the basis for the modern system.<ref name=US_v_Groupp>{{cite court |litigants = United States v. Groupp |vol = 459 |reporter = F.2d |opinion = 178 |pinpoint = at para 4 |court = [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit|1st Cir.]] |date = 26 April 1972 |url = http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/459/459.F2d.178.71-1351.html |quote = }}</ref> All men 18 years and older had to register with the Selective Service. All men between the ages of 18 and 25 were eligible to be drafted for a service requirement of 21 months. This was followed by a commitment for either 12 consecutive months of active service or 36 consecutive months of service in the reserves, with a statutory term of military service set at a minimum of five years total. Conscripts could volunteer for military service in the regular United States Army for a term of four years or the Organized Reserves for a term of six years. Due to deep postwar budget cuts, only 100,000 conscripts were chosen in 1948. In 1950, the number of conscripts was greatly increased to meet the demands of the [[Korean War]] (1950–1953).{{cn|date=September 2022}}

The outbreak of the Korean War fostered the creation of the [[Military Selective Service Act|Universal Military Training and Service Act]] of 1951. This lowered the draft age from 19 to {{frac|18|1|2}}, increased active-duty service time from 21 to 24 months, and set the statutory term of military service at a minimum of eight years. Students attending a college or training program full-time could request an exemption, which was extended as long as they were students. A Universal Military Training clause was inserted that would have made all men obligated to perform 12 months of military service and training if the act was amended by later legislation. Despite successive attempts over the next several years, however, such legislation was never passed.

President [[John F. Kennedy]] set up {{Executive Order|11119}} (signed on 10 September 1963), granting an exemption from conscription for married men between the ages of 19 and 26. His vice president and later successor as president, [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], later rescinded the exemption for married men without children by {{Executive Order|11241}} (signed on 26 August 1965 and going into effect on midnight of that date). However, married men with children or other dependents and men married before the executive order went into effect were still exempt. President [[Ronald Reagan]] revoked both of them with {{Executive Order|12553}} (signed on 25 February 1986).

The [[Military Selective Service Act|Military Selective Service Act of 1967]] expanded the ages of conscription to the ages of 18 to 55. It still granted student deferments, but ended them upon either the student's completion of a four-year degree or his 24th birthday, whichever came first.

===1969 to 1975===
On 26 November 1969, President [[Richard Nixon]] signed an amendment to the Military Selective Service Act of 1967 that established conscription based on random selection (lottery).<ref>{{cite web |title = An Act to Amend the Military Selective Service Act of 1967 ... |url = http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-83/pdf/STATUTE-83-Pg220.pdf |author = 91st U.S. Congress |publisher = [[United States Government Printing Office]] }} ({{USStatute|91|124|83|220|1969|11|26}})</ref> The [[draft lottery (1969)|first draft lottery]] was held on 1 December 1969; it determined the order of call for induction during calendar year 1970, for registrants born between 1 January 1944, and 31 December 1950. The highest lottery number called for possible induction was 195.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.sss.gov/About/History-And-Records/lotter1 |title = The Vietnam Lotteries |access-date = 21 July 2015 |publisher = Selective Service System }}</ref> The second lottery, on 1 July 1970, pertained to men born in 1951. The highest lottery number called for possible induction was 125.<ref>{{cite web |title = Results from Lottery Drawing – Vietnam Era – 1971 |url = http://www.sss.gov/LOTTER2.HTM |access-date = 21 July 2015 |publisher = Selective Service System |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150305053748/http://www.sss.gov/LOTTER2.HTM |archive-date = 5 March 2015 }}</ref> The third was on 5 August 1971, pertaining to men born in 1952; the highest lottery number called was 95.<ref>{{cite web |title = Results from Lottery Drawing – Vietnam Era – 1972 |url = http://www.sss.gov/lotter3.htm |access-date = 21 July 2015 |publisher = Selective Service System |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150305055024/http://www.sss.gov/LOTTER3.HTM |archive-date = 5 March 2015 }}</ref>

In 1971, the [[Military Selective Service Act]] was further amended to make registration compulsory; all men had to register within a period 30 days before and 29 days after their 18th birthdays. Registrants were classified ''1-A'' (eligible for military service), ''1-AO'' ([[conscientious objector]] available for non-combatant military service), and ''1-O'' (conscientious objector available for alternate community service). Student deferments were ended, except for [[Seminary|divinity students]], who received a ''2-D'' Selective Service classification. Men who were not classifiable as eligible for service due to a disqualification were classified ''1-N''. Men who are incapable of serving for medical or psychological unfitness are classified ''4-F''. Upon completion of military service the classification of ''4-A'' was assigned. Draft classifications of ''1-A'' were changed to ''1-H'' (registrant not currently subject to processing for induction) for men not selected for service after the calendar year they were eligible for the draft. (These – and other – draft classifications were in place long before 1971.) Also, draft board membership requirements were reformed: minimum age of board members was dropped from 30 to 18, members over 65 or who had served on the board for 20 or more years had to retire, and membership had to proportionally reflect the ethnic and cultural makeup of the local community.

On 27 January 1973, [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[Melvin Laird]] announced the creation of an all-volunteer armed forces, negating the need for the military draft.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1 = Janowitz |first1 = Morris |first2 = Charles C. Jr. |last2 = Moskos |name-list-style = amp |title = Five Years of the All-Volunteer Force: 1973–1978 |magazine = Armed Forces & Society |date = January 1979 |volume = 5 |pages = 171–218 |url = http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/5/2/171 }}</ref> The seventh and final lottery drawing was held on 12 March 1975, pertaining to men born in 1956, who would have been called to report for induction in 1976.<ref>{{cite web |title = The Vietnam Lotteries |url = https://www.sss.gov/About/History-And-Records/lotter1 |publisher = Selective Service System }}</ref> But no new draft orders were issued after 1972.<ref>{{cite web |title = Results from Lottery Drawing – Vietnam Era – 1973 |url = http://www.sss.gov/lotter4.htm |access-date = 21 July 2015 |publisher = Selective Service System |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150227012524/http://www.sss.gov/LOTTER4.HTM |archive-date = 27 February 2015 }}</ref>

===1975 to 1980===
On 29 March 1975, President [[Gerald Ford]], whose own son, [[Steven Ford|Steven]], had earlier failed to register for the draft as required,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://geraldrfordfoundation.org/centennial/oralhistory/steve-ford/ |title = Steve Ford |publisher = Gerald R. Ford Foundation |date = 29 May 2013 }}</ref> signed Proclamation 4360 (Terminating Registration Procedures Under Military Selective Service Act), eliminating the registration requirement for all 18- to 25-year-old male citizens.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=23818 |title = Gerald R. Ford: Proclamation 4360 - Selective Service Registration }}</ref>

===1980 to present===
On 2 July 1980, President [[Jimmy Carter]], signed Proclamation 4771 (Registration Under the Military Selective Service Act) in response to the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]] in the previous year of 1979,<ref>{{cite web |title = Background of Selective Service |url = http://www.sss.gov/backgr.htm |website = Selective Service System |publisher = United States Government |access-date = 23 August 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090507211214/http://www.sss.gov/backgr.htm |archive-date = 7 May 2009 |date = 30 April 2002 }}</ref> retroactively re-establishing the Selective Service registration requirement for all 18- to 26-year-old male citizens born on or after 1 January 1960.<ref name="Archives.gov">{{cite web |url = https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/proclamations/04771.html |title = Proclamation 4771 – Registration Under the Military Selective Service Act |publisher = Archives.gov |access-date = 8 April 2011 }}</ref> As a result, only men born between 29 March 1957, and 31 December 1959, were completely exempt from Selective Service registration.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title50a/50a_9_1_.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030114143335/http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title50a/50a_9_1_.html |archive-date = 14 January 2003 |title = Military Selective Service Act }}</ref>

The first registrations after Proclamation 4771 took place at various [[United States Postal Service|post offices]] across the nation on 21 July 1980, for men born in calendar year 1960. Pursuant to the presidential proclamation, all those men born in 1960 were required to register that week. Men born in 1961 were required to register the following week. Men born in 1962 were required to register during the week beginning 5 January 1981. Men born in 1963 and after were required to register within 30 days before or after their 18th birthday.<ref name="Archives.gov"/>

A bill to abolish the Selective Service System was introduced in the [[United States House of Representatives]] on 10 February 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title = H.R.4523 – To repeal the Military Selective Service Act, and thereby terminate the registration requirements of such Act and eliminate civilian local boards, civilian appeal boards, and similar local agencies of the Selective Service System. |url = https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4523 |website = Congress.gov |publisher = Library of Congress |access-date = 12 February 2016 }}</ref> H.R. 4523 would end draft registration and eliminate the authority of the president to order anyone to register for the draft, abolish the Selective Service System, and effectively repeal the "Solomon Amendments" making registration for the draft a condition of federal student aid, jobs, and job training. The bill would leave in place, however, laws in some states making registration for the draft a condition of some state benefits.<ref>{{cite web |title = H.R.4523 – To repeal the Military Selective Service Act |url = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c114:H.R.4523: |website = Thomas |publisher = Library of Congress |access-date = 12 February 2016 |archive-date = 3 July 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160703201330/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c114:H.R.4523: |url-status = dead }}</ref> On 9 June 2016, a similar bill was introduced in the [[United States Senate]], called the "Muhammad Ali Voluntary Service Act".<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/3041 |title = S.3041 – Muhammad Ali Voluntary Service Act |website = US Congress |date = 9 June 2016 }}</ref>

On 27 April 2016, the House Armed Services Committee voted to add an amendment<ref>{{cite web |title = Amendment to H.R. 4909 offered by Mr. Hunter of California |url = https://hasbrouck.org/draft/amendment-women-register-27APR2016.pdf |access-date = 28 April 2016 }}</ref> to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017<ref>{{cite web |title = H.R.4909 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 |url = https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4909 |website = Congress.gov |publisher = Library of Congress |access-date = 28 April 2016 }}</ref> to extend the authority for draft registration to women. On 12 May 2016, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to add a similar provision to its version of the bill.<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Lardner |first1 = Richard |title = The GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee has seconded a call by its counterpart in the House to require women to register for a military draft |url = https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2016-05-12/senate-panel-says-women-should-register-for-military-draft |access-date = 15 May 2016 |agency = Associated Press |date = 12 May 2016 }}</ref> If the bill including this provision had been enacted into law, it would have authorized (but not require) the president to order young women as well as young men to register with the Selective Service System.<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Hasbrouck |first1 = Edward |title = House Committee votes to extend draft registration to women |url = https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002232.html |website = The Practical Nomad |access-date = 28 April 2016 }}</ref>

The House-Senate conference committee for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 removed the provision of the House version of the bill that would have authorized the president to order women as well as men to register with the Selective Service System, but added a new section to create a "[[National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service]]" (NCMNPS). This provision was enacted into law on 23 December 2016 as Subtitle F of Public Law 114–328.<ref>{{cite web |title = PL114-328, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 |url = https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-114publ328/pdf/PLAW-114publ328.pdf |publisher = Government Printing Office |access-date = 4 September 2018 }}</ref> The commission was to study and make recommendations by March 2020 on the draft, draft registration, registration of women, and "the feasibility and advisability of modifying the military selective service process in order to obtain for military, national, and public service individuals with skills (such as medical, dental, and nursing skills, language skills, cyber skills, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills) for which the Nation has a critical need, without regard to age or sex". During 2018 and 2019, the commission held both public and closed-door meetings with members of the public and invited experts and other witnesses.<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Hasbrouck |first1 = Edward |title = National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service (NCMNPS) records released in response to FOIA request |url = https://resisters.info/commission.html |website = Resisters.info |access-date = 4 September 2018 }}</ref>

In February 2019, a challenge to the Military Selective Service Act, which provides for the male-only draft, by the [[National Coalition for Men]], was deemed unconstitutional by Judge [[Gray H. Miller]] in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas]]. [[National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System|Miller's opinion]] was based on the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]'s past argument in ''[[Rostker v. Goldberg]]'' (1981) which had found the male-only draft constitutional because the military then did not allow women to serve. As the Department of Defense has since lifted most restrictions on women in the military, Miller ruled that the justifications no longer apply, and thus the act requiring only men to register would now be considered unconstitutional under the [[Equal Protection Clause]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/us/military-draft-men-unconstitutional.html |title = Drafting Only Men for the Military Is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules |first = Tyler |last = Pager |date = 24 February 2019 |access-date = 25 February 2019 |work = [[The New York Times]] }}</ref> The government appealed this decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Hasbrouck |first1 = Edward |title = Federal court declares current military draft registration requirement unconstitutional |url = https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002337.html |access-date = 31 December 2019 }}</ref> Oral arguments on the appeal were heard on 3 March 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hasbrouck |first1=Edward |title=Appeals Court hears arguments on the Constitutionality of draft registration |url=https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002365.html |website=Resisters.info |access-date=13 March 2020}}</ref> The District Court decision was reversed by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.<ref name="hasbrouck.org">{{cite web |last1=Hasbrouck |first1=Edward |title=Court of Appeals overturns ruling that male-only draft registration requirement is unconstitutional |url=https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002378.html |website=Resisters.Info |access-date=23 January 2021}}</ref> A petition for review was declined by the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Liptak|first=Adam|date=7 June 2021|title=Supreme Court Won't Hear Case on Limiting Military Draft to Men|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/us/supreme-court-draft.html|access-date=8 June 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In December 2019, the bipartisan "Selective Service Repeal Act", a bill to repeal the Military Selective Service Act and abolish the Selective Service System, H.R. 5492, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives [[Peter DeFazio]] (D-OR) and [[Rodney Davis (politician)|Rodney Davis]] (R-IL).<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Hasbrouck |first1 = Edward |title = Bill introduced to end draft registration |url = https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002363.html |access-date = 31 December 2019 }}</ref> This bill was reintroduced in both the House (H.R. 2509) and the Senate (S. 1139) on 14 April 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=DeFazio, Wyden, Paul, Davis Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Abolish the Selective Service |date=14 April 2021 |url=https://defazio.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/defazio-wyden-paul-davis-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-abolish-the |access-date=28 August 2022 |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829184337/https://defazio.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/defazio-wyden-paul-davis-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-abolish-the |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In January 2020, the Selective Service System website crashed following the [[Assassination of Qasem Soleimani|U.S. airstrike on Baghdad International Airport]]. An [[Internet meme]] about the event being the beginning of [[World War III]] began [[Reactions to the assassination of Qasem Soleimani|gaining in popularity]] very quickly, causing an influx of visitors to the Selective Service System website, which was not prepared to handle it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/03/politics/military-draft-selective-service-site-crash-trnd/index.html|title=Selective Service System website crashes amid questions and fears of another US military draft|first=Amir |last=Vera|website=CNN|date=3 January 2020 |access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/01/the-selective-services-website-crashed-and-not-because-people-are-rushing-to-enlist/|title=The Selective Service's website crashed and not because people are rushing to enlist|last=Weinberg|first=Abigail|website=Mother Jones|language=en-US|access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref>