Should women have to sign up for a draft at 18 like men do?

[Betsyt82]

I voted for women to be drafted. I realize I am repeating many here but......... If women want equlity and have strived for this over the years then they are to understand that equality is in all things/jobs and that the draft is for all and not just men. (I don't want any one to go to war or be drafted.) Can't have your cake and eat it too. ( ummmm must be hungry need breakfast)

 

[browneyes]

Trust me, you do not want me to be able to carry a gun. I'm like Barney Fife with those things. It wouldn't be prudent to have me drafted.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I voted yes. If women want to be treated like equals they need to act like equals and that includes doing things that they may not necessarily want to do but need to do. What makes a woman more "important" than a man? What makes a mother more important than a father? If a man can't handle being in the military with a woman, that is the man's fault, not the women's, and it needs to be dealt with.

I often wish I followed my father's footsteps and joined the USAF.

 

[Lisa F]

I voted that yes, women should have to sign up for the draft just like men do. It boggles my mind that in both this thread and the other one, women are using the excuse of "oh, I could never carry a gun" or "oh, I'm too weak to be on the front lines." Don't you think that there are men who feel this way also? Do you honesty think that the modern military would just snap up all of these random people and then without a lick of physical training or training in self defense or how to use a weapon just plunk them down on the front line with a gun in their hand and say "here, defend the free world"?

I do not come from a long line of "macho men" yet they have all managed to do their military duty during times of war. My grandfather was 5'1 and a very sick man most of his adult life (he died at the age of 50), yet there are pictures of him in uniform. When WWII happened, he volunteered for the army, and was a clerk for the Army because he was not physically qualified for anything more strenuous than a "desk job."

We recently came across my husband's grandfather's WWII records and it was mentioned over and over and over again that he was overweight. He didn't tote around a gun on the front lines, but he did speak german fluently and without an accent and basically worked as a translator.

My dad served in vietnam and wasn't so macho when he went in. He was a 120 lb wimp who was picked on by his older brothers. With proper nutrition and training he gained 30 lbs of muscle during basic and he DID end up serving in a combat situation because he was capable of it. It may sound cliche, but he did grow up and become a strong and capable man because of his basic training.


I find the all of the excuses that boil down to "well I'm afraid to serve" to be ridiculous. Do you think men are not afraid to serve? Do you think men are not afraid to lose their lives? How can you ask someone to do something for you that you are not willing to do yourself?

If you are not physically capable of serving as a warrior then you can serve in jobs that you ARE physically capable of doing. My point is that the determination as to what capacity a person IS physically capable of serving in should NOT be determined by gender, but by their abilities. Isn't that what the whole crux of women's rights? That we be judged not by whether or not we have a ***** but by our capabilities? Or does this only apply when women want it to apply? Why should a draft be any different? Women shouldn't get an automatic out just because they are women.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Originally posted by Lisa F
Or does this only apply when women want it to apply?

Bingo.

And I do "play" with guns. Really once you try it, it's not as scary as it seems. I enjoy going shooting.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Maybe I'm just weird, but I would love it, LOVE IT, if one of our female soldiers eventually tracked down Bin Laden and got him. These extremists hate women ; and the feminist side of me really wants to see Bin Laden get brought down by a female soldier.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Granted they weren't drafted but this is their JOB, they chose it and signed the dotted line. I don't know that it would be any different if they had been drafted.

This is completely different. If you are military and you marry someone or have children with someone who is it's your jog. You need to have plans in place in case you both get called up. But to say that at any time if you are 35 or less the military could remove both parents from the home is crazy. Not all couples have somebody else that could raise their children. Where would the money for these kids food, clothing and expenses come from for those years. Would we place these kids in foster care. What if their foster parents then got called up. No, it will be necessary to have an exemption for these situations.