I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and this is

Women and the Draft in a constitutional minute. Top US military officials

recently suggested that women should be required to register for the draft.

Several 2016 presidential candidates have also women should be required to register for the draft.

Several 2016 presidential candidates have also weighed in.

In 1981, the Supreme Court said that the Constitution allows the military to require men,

but not women, to register for the draft, because women don't have the same opportunities for

promotion as men.

But in December, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that women are now eligible

for combat positions.

Soon after, a federal appeals court heard arguments

in a lawsuit brought by the National Coalition for Men,

which says that as a result of the new policy,

the mail-only draft violates the Equal Protection

Clause of the Constitution.

The lower court ruled against the coalition on the ground that the case is not ripe for review

because the new policy is still being implemented.

On behalf of the National Constitution Center, I'm Jeffrey Rosen.