Quaker sues Feds over draft registration
A young Washington state man has sued the U.S. government because the draft registration form has no place to show conscientious objector status.
Tobin Jacobrown, 21, of Indianola, a practicing Quaker, is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in the District of Columbia, The Washington Post reported…
The military draft was abolished in 1973, but young men are still required to register in case Congress brings it back.
Jacobrown said he refused to fill out the forms. That means he cannot get a job with the U.S. government or receive federal student aid.
“A big part of my religion is not submitting to any system that you feel is unjust,” Jacobrown said. “And I think this is unjust.”
American newspapers really hate to make it clear that religious grounds are NOT REQUIRED to win conscientious objector status.
One of the important cases won during the resistance to the VietNam War – that went all the way to the Supreme Court – allowed that you could reach your objection to participating in war as a political solution without committing to religious ideology.
Not that I think the present Supreme Court would support that kind of free thought.
Holler at your Congress-critter to support Bernie Sanders' bill to 
I think I know someone who (at 18) was so incensed and afraid Jimmy Carter would have the US in a fake war in the middle east, like what Bush got us into with Iraq, that he wrote in big letters “conscientious objector” across his draft registration card in 1979. The guy I am speaking of was a big patriotic activist back in the day and from what I understand, STILL IS!
(Maybe Viet Nam made an indelible mark upon him as a young child.)
Put the box for conscientious objector on the form so the truth can be told! It’s the patriotic thing to do…on so many levels! Oh, and perhaps draft registrations should also be required for females. Let war be an equal opportunity employer…just in case the Republicans decide (again) that we should attack a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. As war profiteers need volunteers ready to die for their monetary gains, let everyone possible be affected and effected for perhaps then and only then will injustice be trumpted and illegal wars avoided.
Eric Scott
July 31, 2009 at 5:26 am
I am ashamed of giving in to pressure by my father and another member of the church by registering for the draft. If anyone knows of a proper means of revoking my original draft registration, please let me know.
It may seem rather moot that I am wanting to do this at this late date (I am nearly 60 years old) but this act has gnawed at my conscience for over 50 years.
“Everyone” says that there is no point in doing this, but I think it important to rectify something I should not have done in the first place.
The registration requirement is clearly unconstitutional, as the anti-slavery amendment prohibits slavery or involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime duly convicted. For that matter, the original constitution grants no power to enslave anyone but convicted criminals. The tenth amendment makes it clear, for those who have difficulties understanding the constitution, that the constitution grants no power not expressly enumerated (listed). It is unfortunate that even the eminent justices on the supreme court are (seemingly) incapable of understanding the simple words of the amendment.
As for a presidential proclamation, the president cannot enact legislation. Such a proclamation would apply only to employees, agents and officers of the federal government relating to their duties as such.
Jim
September 18, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Jim, You’re one of a few who understands what “Executive Orders” apply to.
Why is this Quaker wanting to get benefits that have been stolen from others, in particular unbelievers in his religion?
To revoke the draft registration, you simply need to revoke your signature on the original application for registration. Cause? Fraud. The full terms and conditions are not disclosed on the form.
Some states are linking draft registration with driver licensing. Of course, driver licensing (noncommercial) is also unconstitutional, so the two do go together.
In such cases, the draft registration is revoked as coerced. Anything sent you, mainly a registration card, should be returned to its owner, the SSS. Remove any signature you may have IN IGNORANCE placed on the card. Your signature is YOUR PROPERTY and you do not have to donate it to the SSS.
Same thing with the SSN. Form SSA-521 [www.ssa.gov/online/ssa-521.pdf] may be used attached (meaning “included/enclosed with,” not actually stapled or taped) to your cover letter. This form is intended for taking back an application for benefits but it does not say so on it or in its appended instructions. Further, having a SSN is a “benefit.” To use this form you must also send back any benefit(s) you may have already received (like the number). Remove your signature from the card and send the card and stub back along with Form 521 and your cover letter. Having your signature on the cover letter notarized won’t hurt, either. The cover letter is necessary to make it unmistakable clear that your withdrawal is “ab initio” = from the beginning.
Realize that anything else you got that is connected with the draft registration or social security application may be revoked, such as IRS forms, driver licenses, professional licenses, fishing licenses, marriage licenses, anything and everything. These will have to be dealt with one by one. You may lose your job when you begin refusing to disgorge “your” SSN. Slaves often resent any of their number trying to escape or even to buy themselves out of slavery. Like lobsters in a lobster trap, which grab the hindlegs of any of their number that is trying to escape the trap.
Al
December 21, 2010 at 12:09 pm
I forgot to mention that Withdrawal of Application may be eliminated as Congress has become aware of a rise in people availing themselves of its benefit to maximize their loot from the SS system. The idea is that you apply for retirement benefits at 62, put the payments in a savings account of some sort, then, when you are old enough to qualify for full benefits, you withdraw your application you filed at 62, give the money back to SSA and start getting full benefits.
Looks like Congress is discontinuing this “working” of the system. So the form 521 may disappear from the SSA website. It is found on a lot of other websites, though, so even if it is obsoleted, it may be used as a guide for framing a letter withdrawing the original SS-5 application for a SSN.
Al
December 21, 2010 at 12:15 pm