Selective Service (draft) registration; would you refuse to do so?

[xray s]

My wife told me tonight she does not want our son to register with the Selective Service when he turns 18. This surprised me, because she is a Republican leaning independent who voted for Bush.

The penalty for not registering is pretty steep; up to a $250,000 fine and 5 years in prison.

http://www.sss.gov/FSbenefits.htm

I can think of no more powerful message to send to Washington than millions of young men refusing to register to be drafted into Bush's oil army. Could this be the next step in trying to steer our nation away from the radical foreign policies of the PNAC and the extremist in the Bush administration? How about registering as Conscientious Objectors?

[thebigidea]

1. say...

"The penalty for not registering is pretty steep; up to a $250,000 fine and 5 years in prison."

I've heard this before, but I've never heard of any one actually being sent to prison or fined that much. Any one?

[amlouden]

4. signed

i signed up when i turned 18, but i doubt you would go to jail, or at least untill there was a draft put into effect

[elperromagico]

5. To my understanding

it isn't a problem until you try to get a student loan or some other form of financial assistance in college. I don't think anyone's been thrown in the slammer over it in about 25 years.

[Fescue4u]

16. Not just assistance...

But registeration for college.

When I went to college in the late 80's you couldnt register for classes unless you had registered for Selective Service (only applied to males under a certain age)

I forget how it was tracked, but I remembering it pissing me off.

[Renew Deal]

2. I am over 18 so I am registered.

And it is probably not a problem. Better to do the right thing and register. The odds of a draft is small. The odds of a call is much smaller.

[thebigidea]

3. what are the Vegas bookies saying about the odds of a draft in 2005

if Bush slithers back in?

Not too bad, I imagine.

[RandomUser]

6. Not registering is a regressive stance that hurts the poor

If I'm not mistaken, registration for selective service is a prerequisite for consideration of Federal financial aid for college. Thus, the ones who will be most hurt if they don't register will the be the poor who need federal grants and loans to attend college.

[SadEagle]

7. There is an another penalty for not registering.

Any male >=18 has to be registered with selective service to qualify for federal (and often state) financial aid. Depending on the state of your family's fincances that may or may not be a big deal.

[mark0rama]

8. I can empathize with your wife.

No mother wants to see her own son go off to war.

I'm not trying to be inflammatory, but I've got to ask: Given your wife's Repub leanings, what is her position on the war in Iraq? Is she opposed to it, too?

On edit: softened the tone of my question upon realizing it needn't be so harsh.

[xray s]

11. She doesn't want to see anyone going to Iraq

I think she is really disappointed in Bush, but doesn't talk about it much.

Just because she leans R doesn't mean she's pro-war. We know young men in Iraq and we both want them all home now.

[mark0rama]

13. Amen to that

I also know a few R-leaners who realize what a bad idea the war was.

Here's hoping they give some thought to leaning D instead.

[wuushew]

9. Refusing to sign up carries no realistic penalties

The 20 year old student who recently tested homeland security(and I consider a patriot) burned his selective service card. He was never arrested, questioned or was unable to attend college.

The only reason to register is if you need government grants/loans for college.


I really should have burned mine, but in retrospect I did get a cool sensor excel razor.

[quaker bill]

10. You can register as a conscientious objector

You need to scrawl it in big letters on front and back of the form, copy it and mail it to ourself. Retain the copy unopened. The postmark is necessary proof of date.

This approach meets the legal requirement and gives the boy a good chance of getting alternate service or avoiding the draft altogether.

[bluestateguy]

12. Will he need student loans for college?

Failure to register can mean loss of eligibility for student loans--a law passed in 1982, Reagan's work. There is no harm in registering. If there is a draft the government will find you no matter what.

I only support drafting white male, chickenhawk, frat boy Republicans from families that have a lot of money.

[tedoll78]

14. Here's what I'd do:

Go to their office with my same-sex partner of seven years, with my inhaler in-hand, begin to make-out while waiting for the meeting, and in the throes of passion, raise my shirt up to expose my cancer surgery scars. I doubt they'd want me after that.

Hehe..

[pasadenaboy]

15. I needed federal student aid to get through college

so I didn't have a choice. The poor are stuck on this one.

[alfredo]

17. You know that will be cut soon.

Remember Reagan cut the Pell grant, sticking it to the poor and the middle class.

College is an entitlement for the rich, not for the lumpen.