What if I choose not to register?

You're someone who has no intention of ever being part of the military; you've ignored the recruiters, despite repeated phone calls and subtle pressure from school guidance counselors. Why, you may ask, should you then register -- and put your name in line for a future, massive military action?

You're violating the law, although you're not likely to be prosecuted.

One reason, of course, is that it's the law. Failure to register is a federal offense: if prosecuted and convicted, you could face up to five years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. (Actual published sentencing guidelines are much less). If you refuse to register with Selective Service, you'll receive threatening letters, at first politely reminding you to register, then threatening prosecution, finally informing you that your name has been turned over to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution. These sound scary, but they're mostly bluff. No one has actually been formally charged since 1986.

In the early 1980s, 21 young men were indicted for refusal to register: 19 of those 21 were public resisters. Wherever there were trials, the rates of registration actually went down. This resistance halted prosecutions.

You become ineligible for federal aid.

Since prosecutions didn't work, the same "patriotic" politicians that keep Selective Service in business came up with more insidious ways to ensure compliance. If you don't register, you become ineligible for federal student aid, federal job training or civil service employment (anywhere from the Post Office to the Park Service). In some states you can't get state aid or even, as in Colorado, attend state colleges. Check out the Selective Service System's listing of state restrictions for more detail.

However, many states do offer state aid regardless of registration status. Some college financial aid officers will help you seek alternative aid; sometimes, the school itself will have a special fund for such cases.

Some resist by waiting until they're older.

Legally, at any moment until your twenty-sixth birthday, Selective Service must accept your draft registration card. Some young men delay registration until the year in which they turn 21 (at which point the chances of being drafted are extremely slim), or even until just before turning 26. Once registered, you're once again eligible for federal assistance. (Since delayed registration is also illegal, this approach is a form of draft resistance.)

On the other hand, if you don't register before you turn 26, you will not be allowed to register, even if you change your mind. You'd then be permanently barred from such benefits, unless Congress or the courts act to change the law, which is unlikely.

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