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Say No to Forcing Women to Register with the Selective Service

Voluntary enlistment in the military provides an honorable career to many individuals, both male and female. With the establishment of the Selective Service Act, obtaining replacement personnel in catastrophic warfare is possible. Traditionally the draft only included young men ages 18-25. The idea of including women in the draft is recurring, first suggested during World War II for conscripting nurses, Congress rejected the plan in 1945. President Jimmy Carter revised the idea in 1980, which again was denied by Congress. In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that allowing women in the draft was illegal since women could not serve in combat. 

 

However, women started serving in combat roles in 2015, meaning the U.S. Supreme Court ruling no longer applies. Because this ruling is no longer relevant, some argue that the government can now include women in the Selective Service Act. On July 21st, the U.S. Armed Services Committee passed the U.S. Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which requires women between 18-25 to register with the Selective Service. If the NDAA bill passes and becomes law, and the draft is one day reinstated, young women would be eligible for the draft.

 

Women have served voluntarily for decades in non-combat roles. These women deserve respect and honor for the sacrifices made. Mandatory conscription of women, however, is neither honorable nor advisable. The idea of including women in a draft is, at best, an untried and risky experiment. 

 

Women who would be drafted would be forced into an environment fraught with sexual violence. According to the Department of Defense (DoD) in the 2018 Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, a 50 percent increase in women reporting sexual assault between 2016-2018 occurred. The report’s authors also state that only one-third of assaults are disclosed, meaning the rate of assault may be significantly higher. The odds of a woman in the military being sexually assaulted compared to her civilian counterpart are astonishing. The odds of sexual assault for a civilian woman is 1 in 17. Yet, it increases to a 1 in 11 chance for women in the military. 

 

Perhaps most concerning is the possibility of injury. By 2018 over 1,000 female US soldiers were injured in combat. Physical injury, however, is not the only concern. Another concern is mental health. Among all the female soldiers wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, 40 percent developed mental health conditions. Of those women diagnosed with a mental health illness, 20 percent were explicitly diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Since mandatory conscription is solely for personnel replacement, the assignment of women draftees to combat is likely. Therefore, the probability of women draftees suffering physical or psychological harm is considerable. 

 

The next question is, where would draftees be sent? The enemy in a future conflict is unknown, but the U.S. has several adversaries that are likely candidates, including Muslim extremists who already oppress their own women. Women combatants are at significant risk of horrific treatment if captured by terrorists. Are we willing to send female draftees into a setting where torture occurs at the hands of radicals? 

 

What would a draft mean for women who prefer more traditional roles? Although some women thrive in the environment created by the rigors of the military, many women do not desire service in non-traditional roles. There are still many women who prefer the marriage and motherhood. Some women prefer a career that does not include the physical demands of war. Would women be forced to leave their children? How would expectant mothers be treated? Earlier this year, the U.S. Navy issued its first maternity flight suit. 

 

Women volunteered in the past on their own accord, and they deserve respect for the roles they have filled. A strong military will indeed include women, but their service should remain voluntary. We should avoid any steps that may lead to the social experiment of compulsory service. 

 

If the mandatory registration of young women with the Selective Service concerns you, please contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives and ask them to vote no on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).  

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to U.S. Senators Dick Durbin, Tammy Duckworth and your local U.S. Representative to urge them to reject this foolish version of the NDAA which would require women to register for the Selective Service. In this age of “social justice,” the radical left would have us ignore the biological, physiological and emotional differences between men and women. We cannot remain silent as federal lawmakers consider a legislative mandate that will likely lead to wives, daughters and sisters one day being drafted.

“I’ll go ahead and make an argument that I think is based in scripture, based in general revelation and based
in a review of human history. One of the achievements of civilization is that, under normal circumstances,
wives and daughters are not sent into war as are husbands and sons.”
~Dr. Al Mohler (8/11/2021 Briefing)



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Special IFI Forum on Education Choice

A recent headline of a Chicago Sun-Times article alarmingly reports that a Chicago Public School watchdog is fielding 3 complaints of sexual misconduct per school day. This comes on the heels of a 2018 Chicago Tribune report that exposed Chicago public schools of having more than 520 sexual assault cases all across the city over the past decade.

According to the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), only 38 percent of Illinois public school students meet proficiency expectations in English Language Arts, only 32 percent of students meet proficiency expectations in math. This despite the fact that the NEA reports that taxpayers pay $16,925 per student per year in Illinois. For that kind of investment, the vast majority of students should not only be meeting proficiency expectations but exceeding them.

In addition, we now have the serious problem of gender-confused boys demanding unrestricted access to girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms, and school boards and administrators affirming this nonsense. We also have a new state mandate that requires all students in K-12 public schools be taught, in a positive manner, about the “roles and contributions” of homosexuals and opposite-sex impersonators; as well as, textbooks purchased must include discussions of the those purported “roles and contributions.”

And let’s not forget that we have a state mandate in favor of highly objectionable sex ed material for the impressionable minds of government school children in 6th through 12th grade.

As if that isn’t enough, government schools are using instructional time to promote left-wing political views on climate change; open borders and global citizenship; Islamic studies and prayers to the god of Islam; Howard Zinn’s warped view of America’s Founding Fathers; and the pernicious ideology of “intersectionality” that is designed to divide and pit Americans against each other.

Christian parents and grandparents must seriously consider the great options they have for their students, and make the move away from government schools. The prevalence of perversion, subversion, and indoctrination are becoming more pronounced, and in order to protect the hearts and minds of our children, it is wise to consider other options.

We invite you to join us on Saturday, April 25th, to hear from a great line up of experts as we explore what we need to do to begin to rebuild the culture through education. The event is free and open to the public. Click HERE for a flyer for this event.

2020 IFI Education Forum

WHEN: Saturday, April 25th
WHERE: Church of Christian Liberty
  502 Euclid Avenue
Arlington Heights, IL  60004
TIME: 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Our tentative schedule includes:

9:30-10:15        Rescuing Our Children from Government Schools (Alex Newman, The Liberty Sentinel)

10:15-11:00       Homeschooling: What in the World is Going On? (Dr. Brian Ray, NHERI)

11:00-11:30       Home Education is Possible (Kirk Smith, Illinois Christian Home Educators)

11:30-Noon       The Benefits of Christian Schooling (Rev. Calvin Lindstrom, Christian Liberty Academy)

Noon-12:15        The State of Education Choice in Illinois (Lennie Jarret, Heartland Institute

12:15-1:00         Q&A Session


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An Appeal to Attorney General Lisa Madigan

In the wake of the shocking Pennsylvania Grand Jury report which revealed that 301 priests sexually abused more than a thousand children, Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that her office would investigate Catholic dioceses in Illinois in pursuit of “a complete and accurate accounting of all sexually inappropriate behavior involving priests in Illinois.”

We applaud this decision and her desire for truth, transparency, and accountability. Justice must be pursued and children must be protected.

But we want to encourage the attorney general not to stop there. Prior to the Pennsylvania revelation, the Chicago Tribune published a deeply disturbing report exposing similar abuses of our children in Chicago Public Schools. This report revealed that more than 520 cases of juvenile sexual assault took place in Chicago’s public schools over the past ten years. That is an average of one per week.

How many cases were prosecuted? Which cases were covered up and by whom? How many predators are still working in our schools and have access to our students? How many cases were not reported?

If the Pennsylvania scandal is the catalyst for an investigation in Illinois—and we agree that it should be—shouldn’t the Chicago Tribune exposé be the impetus for an investigation of all school districts in Illinois going back further than a decade?

A hotline has been set up to report incidents of child sexual abuse in Illinois: 888-414-7678.

Years of concealing crimes, ignoring victims and protecting abusers isn’t unique to one institution. All crimes against children demand a full accounting. Predators must be exposed, prosecuted and removed from positions of power that provide them access to minors.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to contact the Attorney General’s office to encourage them to investigate the sexual crimes against our children in public school systems across the state of Illinois.

If you have information that would help stop a predator from preying on children and put him behind bars, please call the hotline: 888-414-7678. The hotline is answered by trained staff during business hours, and messages will be returned if contact information is provided.


A bold voice for pro-family values in Illinois! 

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