Following is a press release regarding a new statement signed by Pax Christi USA and almost 40 other organizations expressing our opposition to new efforts to enact a federal military draft.
It is apropos to announce this statement today as March 12 is the feast day of St. Maximilian of Tebessa, a third century Christian martyr who was put to death for refusing induction into the Roman army — he is the first known Christian conscientious objector. (Use this link to read more about the Ben Salmon No Just War Registry for Conscientious Objectors.)
From Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft — A diverse coalition is mobilizing opposition to a recently-passed federal law that seeks to step up preparations for and readiness to activate a military draft. The new law authorizes the federal Selective Service System to begin using automated involuntary registration to increase the number of individuals currently listed in the agency’s database of potential draftees.
A statement by the coalition (attached with a list of signatories) argues that, instead of attempting to automate draft registration, Congress should repeal the entire Military Selective Service Act that authorizes registration and other planning and preparation for a draft.
Since 1980, almost all male US citizens or residents who reach age 18 have been required by law to register themselves with the Selective Service System (SSS). However, the SSS has seen persistent shortfalls in compliance, and it has become increasingly obvious that its database is both incomplete and inaccurate. As a result, Congress approved a provision buried in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act that will authorize the culling of information from other federal databases to automatically and involuntarily register men with the SSS. This law will give the SSS unprecedented authority to aggregate data from any other federal agency that might help identify or locate potential draftees.
The switch to automatic registration is scheduled to take effect at the end of 2026 and will deny individuals the opportunity to object or show they don’t qualify for a draft.
The coalition makes it known to all that the switch to automatic registration was enacted with no hearings, no debate, and no budget review, and it warns that “there is no reason to think that a list constructed from other databases compiled for entirely unrelated purposes will be any more fit for the purpose of provably delivering induction notices than the current ‘self- registration’ list.”
Another worry of the coalition is that access to the SSS database of registered individuals is now being sought by the Department of State and US Citizenship and Immigration Services in order to identify noncitizen residents for possible deportation.
With this unprecedented expansion of draft registration, the federal government is eliminating one of the last barriers to unpopular wars and mandatory military service. In addition, the registration list compiled by the SSS will be vulnerable to misuse and weaponization, especially against trans, non-binary, and immigrant youth.
The coalition’s statement has been endorsed by peace and anti-war groups, draft resisters, religious organizations and civil libertarians. They are calling for Congress to end SSS registration with a repeal of the Military Selective Service Act – before the new law directing the SSS to try to find and automatically register potential draftees takes effect in December 2026. Bipartisan legislation for this purpose has been introduced several times in the past – most recently in 2022 (HR 2509) and 2024 (S 4881).
Take action
Use this link from the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) to send a message to your members of Congress, urging them to repeal the Military Selective Service Act and automatic draft registration, oppose any future expansion of the Selective Service System, and take a stand for peace and civil liberties.
Use this link to read more about the Ben Salmon No Just War Registry for Conscientious Objectors.
I was very conflicted about this issue and have been for years. I worry about an all-volunteer army. Something tells me that it’s more dangerous than an army where people who don’t want to be there are there. Would we ever have heard about My Lai in an all-volunteer army? However, I’m convinced, as a pacifist and non-violent person, that no one should be forced into military service and the possibility of killing human beings.
The concern by Pax Christi over a new compulsory draft, in spite of what skeptics claim, is neither anachronistic nor a misplaced appeasement. Present-day young adults, both working-class and otherwise, observe in real time the neocon bloodlust for war and dominance and overwhelmingly prefer to live in peace and friendship made possible through dialogue and diplomacy. So let our uniparty politicians declare a general conscription and see what happens. The opposition and defiance here and in Europe will be so strong that the already teetering house of cards that constitutes NATO will come tumbling down.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD