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By Daniel Barlow
Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – House lawmakers on Monday rejected a controversial amendment to a major transportation bill requiring all young men to register for the draft when they receive their driver's license.

Lawmakers voted against the amendment 68-60 after more than an hour of debate over the merits of the federal government's Selective Service System, which would be used to call up an army of young men if the draft is reinstated.

The debate did not fall easily along party lines as many lawmakers recalled receiving their own draft notices during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and '70s. Supporters of the amendment said it would remind Vermonters that "freedom isn't free."

"To have the right of freedom, there is an obligation of responsibility," said Rep. David Potter, D-Clarendon, a supporter of the amendment. "This bill enhances that concept."

All men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by federal law to sign up for the Selective Service, a process that is typically completed by filling out a single form available at the post office or mailed to the home.

Doing so adds that person's name to a potential military draft list. It also allows them to take advantage of federal scholarships and school grants, and apply for government jobs, including working for the post office.

But Vermont has a lower compliance rate for Selective Service than most other states: About 86 percent of the state's 19-year-olds are signed up. Requiring young Vermont men to sign up when they receive or renew their driver's license is a step toward ensuring that no one is denied the benefits down the road, Potter said.

He added that the driver's license form would have a box allowing a person to opt out of signing up for the Selective Service.

"Fourteen percent of Vermont's young men are ineligible for federal student loans and grant programs," Potter said.

But many other lawmakers were worried that the amendment flies in the face of Vermont tradition, including the ninth article of the state Constitution, which protects "any person who is conscientiously scrupulous of bearing arms."

Rep. Michael Fisher, D-Lincoln, said there is "no rational reason" for connecting Selective Service to driver's license applications. He said he would be in favor of giving young Vermont men information about the service, but attatching the requirement to a license to drive a vehicle is "not appropriate."

"It is up to the young person and their family to make this decision," Fisher said. "It isn't up to the state of Vermont to force people to do this."

Rep. Johannah Leddy Donovan, D-Burlington, said lawmakers should be shocked at the cost of this provision – an estimated $25,000 to $50,000 in the fiscal year 2011 budget.

Rep. Joseph Krawczyk, R-Bennington, said getting all young men to sign up for the Selective Service and make them eligible for scholarships, loans and jobs was a worthy cause – but this was not the method to do it.

Allen Gilbert, the executive director of the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Monday that he was glad to see the House take a stand against the amendment.

Lawmakers did give preliminary approval to the underlining transportation omnibus bill. The bill includes provisions strengthening the state's motorcycle helmet law, requiring the sellers of boats, snowmobiles and ATVs to reveal if the vehicle has been rebuilt after a serious accident, and establishing an organ donor identification on driver's licenses.

 

More info:

The original article is at http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090505/NEWS03/905050327/1004

Areas of Focus:

Defense Reform (Bring The Guard Home), Democratizing Defense, War Resistance (Bring The Guard Home)

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