For Immediate Release: July 26, 2021
Contact: Ryan Hite, Communications Director
Shame on Senators Inhofe, Scott, Blackburn, and Their Fellow Republican Sellouts
Washington, D.C.: “The Senate Armed Services Committee pushed through a bill behind closed doors that would force young women to register for the military draft,” said Ed Martin, president of Phyllis Schlafly Eagles. “What’s even more shocking and disappointing is this defense bill passed committee with the votes of 11 of 13 Republicans.”
“Senators Josh Hawley (MO) and Tom Cotton (AR) both stuck to their guns and opposed this plan,” Martin continued. “They ardently support our military strength, but they understand our armed services are to be a superior fighting force, not a laboratory of politically correct social experimentation.”
Sen. Cotton stated after the vote “Our military has welcomed women for decades and are stronger for it, but America’s daughters shouldn’t be drafted against their will.” Likewise, Sen. Hawley remarked “It’s one thing to allow American women to choose this service, but it’s quite another to force it upon our daughters, sisters and wives.”
Martin concluded, “Shame on the supposed Republicans who voted this provision though. Conservatives need leaders — not followers who bend to the whims of wokeism. Many senators who claim conservative principles caved — shame on them. Do Senator Scott (FL) and others with plans for higher office expect we will forget their failure to stand up for American women?”
Phyllis Schlafly was the primary voice for decades in opposition to drafting women for combat. In fact, one of her final Phyllis Schlafly Reports (July 2016) before her passing was dedicated to this issue. Her argument rings true in 2021:
“It makes no sense to force all young women to register for a future draft when only a small percentage of them would ever enlist. Our national defense is not enhanced by maintaining a list of millions of women who have no intention of becoming soldiers and would never be fit for combat. The purpose of our military is to field the finest troops possible to defend our Nation and win wars. The goal of feminists, however, is to impose a mindless equality, regardless of how many people it hurts.”
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