This case was brought by men challenging the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA), the law that gave the President power to draft males but not females, on the basis of gender discrimination.

The Supreme Court found no violation of the Due Process Clause because women were excluded from combat at the time, and so the draft would not serve the same purpose for women as it did for men. All restrictions barring women from combat were eliminated in 2015. In July of 2021, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved language in its annual defense policy bill  requiring women to register for the draft.

preventing women from serving in the military

would belie

the significant contributions of female members of the Armed Forces, and

make clear that Congress' decision to exclude women

from serving is unwarranted and

unconstitutional discrimination,

that furthers

sexual stereotypes about the 'proper place' of women and

their need for special protection.

“Under our precedents, the Government cannot meet this burden without showing that a gender-neutral statute would be a less effective means of attaining this end.”