To the future President,

I would like to address an issue that came up on June 14, 2016 when the New York Times published an article. Senate is fighting a bill for women to join the draft when they turn 18 after January 1, 2018. This applies to me and many of my friends and I think it would be beneficial to just eliminate the draft entirely. It is outdated, out modeled, and seemingly unnecessary in today's volunteer based military service.

When the Draft was first established many questions were raised about if it was sexist to not require women to sign up for the draft and if the gender distinctions violated the Due Process clause of the Fifth Amendment. However, in the case of Rostker vs Goldberg, it was decided, with a majority rule of 6-3, that having only men sign up for the draft did not contradict any amendments and that it was not the 'accidental by-product of a traditional way of thinking about females'. General Robert G. Neller, the commandant of the Marine Corps, believes that every American who’s physically qualified should register for the draft.

The last time that the draft was used was in 1973. It was put in place when there was vacancies within the armed forces that needed to be filled in both peacetime and periods of conflict. Many young people these days actually want to be involved in the US armed forces, so why should we continue to force people to sign up for something that doesn’t need to be in place? The draft would only be a good thing if we were about to go to war or have a diminishing population. My request to you is to eliminate the draft. There are only 64 countries that this idea still exists in. 88 countries have eliminated it entirely. I understand the fact that in a time of need we may not have all of the people needed in the armed forces, but doesn’t that take away people's freedoms?

If men or women don’t sign up for the draft then the chance for them to get Pell grants for college is completely eliminated. Many people can’t afford to go to college and the tuition price keeps going up. In the end all I’m asking is that you rethink why the draft is still in place and do something about it.

Sincerely,

Tess Chargo