ACLU-NCA Testifies on Draft Registration Bill

On November 29, ACLU-NCA Legal Director Arthur Spitzer testified on D.C. Council Bill 19-330, the "Access to Selective Service Registration Amendment Act of 2011," which would change the word "may" to "shall" in the sentence that currently provides: "Men between 18 and 25 years of age, may register with the Selective Service when they obtain or renew their driver's license."

We pointed out that although the current system makes registration exceedingly easy, the proposed change may still be useful, because most non-registrations are the result of ignorance or inattention, yet a young man's failure to register before reaching the age of 26 can have unfortunate consequences, because a "willful" failure to register results in a lifetime bar from employment in the executive branch of the United States government and in the U.S. Postal Service and from obtaining federal student loans or grants, and similar bars in most states.

Nevertheless, we said the proposed legislation would impose an unacceptable cost on some conscientious objectors who will not register because of the symbolic statement it makes, with which the individual deeply disagrees. Such men must either avoid living in a state that has automatic registration (a shrinking number) or go through life without a driver's license (a serious disability) or drive without a license (a crime). We therefore proposed that the bill be amended to allow people to opt out of automatic registration if they so desire. The committee seemed receptive to that suggestion.

The full text of the ACLU testimony on the "Access to Selective Service Registration Amendment Act of 2011" is here.

Our follow-up letter after the hearing is here.