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Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., has introduced a proposal that would require biological women who identify as men to register with Selective Service in case the US ever has another draft.
“If they want to be treated like men, they have to do what other men do and enroll in selective service and get drafted like everyone else,” Burchett told Military.com. “This group of people is better protected than any other group, and that’s not good.”
Burchett proposed an amendment to the annual law approving Department of Defense spending and policy priorities for the next fiscal year that would change registration requirements for selective service by “male person” and “male citizen of the United States” to include a “transgender person who identifies as male.”
Currently, men must register with Selective Service regardless of how they declare their gender.
TRANSGENDER WOMEN MUST ENROLL FOR MILITARY DRAFT UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, TRANSMEN GET A PASS
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., attends a hearing with the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 6, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Selective Service bases registration requirements on sex assigned at birth and not on gender identity or gender reassignment,” the Selective Service website states. “Individuals who were born male and changed their sex to female will still need to register.”
However, women — even if they identify as male or have transitioned to male — are not required to register: “Individuals who were born female and have changed their gender to male are not required to register,” the site reads.
Unless lawmakers amend the Military Selective Service Act or pass a separate law On gender identity, Selective Service must “follow Congressional intent, when only men were required to register — the registration requirement is based on gender at birth,” the website said. “In the event of a resumption of military service, persons who were born male and have changed their sex to female may apply for exemption from military service if they are ordered to report for examination or induction.”
PENTAGON ALLOWS OPEN TRANSGENDER MILITARY SERVICE, REVERSING TRUMP POLICY
U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne participate in a training exercise outside the operational base at Arlamow Airport in Poland’s Wola Korzeniecka on Tuesday. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
It’s unclear whether Burchett’s amendment will receive a vote or majority support when the annual defense bill, called the National Defense Authorization Act, hits the House floor next week.
Transgender people can openly serve in the military under their self-identified gender since the beginning of the Biden administration, which reversed restrictions imposed by the former Trump administration.
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The U.S. has not had conscription since 1973.
Aaron Kliegman is a political reporter for Fox News Digital.
