Draft registration in the USA was reinstated under President Carter in 1980, supposedly as part of the preparations for intervention by the USA in Afghanistan on the side of the Islamic fundamentalist warlords and mujahideen who were then fighting against the Soviet Union. I remember my friends freaking out. I was in 20 years old in college in 1980. The law was you have to register if you were born after January 1, 1960 and I was born in 1960. I had one hippie friend go completely crazy and decide not to sign up. I don't know what became of that. I remember being worried.
Apparently no one has been prosecuted for non-registration since 1986. 20 people have been prosecuted, most sent to work camps for 6 months.
It is also interesting that women have not had to sign up. Rostker v. Goldberg, 453 U.S. 57 (1981) upholds the Constitutionality of requiring men but not women to register for the draft. The "Universal National Service Act of 2003" failed to pass. (H.R. HR 4752 IH)
H. R. 163"To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes."
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h109-4752
Related Bill:
http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.89:
http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/National/2003/S89/default.asp
Greg is just what Today's Army needs. And as long as they have Cartoon Network and Boomerang in his foxhole he'll be fine.
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