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NH Senate Bill 32 was heard by the Senate TransportationCommittee on January 22, 2012.
SB32 is “An Act relative to Selective Service registrationupon driver’s license application or renewal.”
The bill’s sponsors are Senators Carson, Cataldo, and Reagan.Also Representatives Lundgren, Notter, and Christiansen.
The current NH driver’s license application has a sectionlabeled Optional. There are 4 boxes an applicant can voluntarily check off. Oneof them reads, “I am 18 years oldand consent to registration with the Selective Service System as required byFederal Law.”
The application is clear. An applicant can choose toregister for Selective Service by checking that box. It is an option.
This is referred to as an “opt-in system.” SB32 would giveus the opposite. New drivers would be automatically registered for SelectiveService via this form unless they chose to opt out.
The current system does not automatically register young men for SelectiveService. The applicants have the choice to do it or not. SB32 presents itselfas a choice, when it is not. An applicant would have to opt out, or beautomatically registered.
The only person at the hearing who spoke in support of thebill was sponsor Senator Sharon Carson. When asked for the reason behind thebill, Senator Carson said that this change is recommended by the SelectiveService Bureau.
Mary Lee Sargent spoke in opposition to the bill. She isopposed to the state automatically registering young men for Selective Service,which deprives them of their autonomy. Sargent said this bill is one moreexample of the increasing militarization of our society. She also pointed outthat the Selective Service registration website lists 4 places to register, andDMV’s are not on that list. Ms. Sargent further pointed out that the currentlaw is working just fine, and sees no reason to change it.
Senator David Watters of the Transportation Committee askedif the federal government requires this. The answer is no. It is merely asuggestion.
The next speaker was Iraq War veteran Will Hopkins. Hedisagrees that the choice to register should be made for young men by the state– that this is not the job of the state.
Dave Tiffany pointed out that 16 and 17 year olds cannotlegally enter into contracts, and wondered who we plan to start a war with thatwe need an army of conscripts.
Arnie Alpert of the NH American Friends Service Committeenoted that the AFSC was originally formed to give conscientious objectors a wayto do service projects instead of serving in WWI. He also pointed out that noneof the forms have a box to check off to show that they are a conscientiousobjector. Alpert also said that this is not the job of the NH DMV, and there isno reason why 16 year olds should have their data sent to Selective Service.
Senator Watters of the committee asked if someone fails to register and isdenied a federal school loan (one of the penalties for failing to register) isthere a process to appeal as a conscientious objector. The answer to that isno, there is not.
Devon Chaffee of the NH ACLU also spoke in opposition to thebill. She sees no need for NH to change the current law, and pointed out thatit is not the responsibility of the state to enforce federal law.
Rick Daly of the NH DMV stated that the opt in box on thecurrent form is used only for those 18 years old and older. He also said thatthe change would require time and resources, but was not sure what the actual dollarcost of that would be. In addition to the changes in the forms themselves, theDMV would be required to notify applicants of the legal ramifications of optingout, something that DMV employees are not currently required to do.
Nor should they be. The state of NH should not be enforcing federal laws.
This is another bill that addresses a non-existent problem.It’s a waste of committee time and taxpayer dollars.
It’s also an underhanded way to sign up young men for Selective Service. Thedecision to register should be an informed decision, one that a young man talksover with his family, not a decision made for him by the state of NH.
The text of the bill is available here.
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